Jammu, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Four Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were killed in a reported friendly firing incident at the Sewa Project in the Mashka area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident reportedly occurred following an altercation among CISF personnel deployed for security duties at the project site. Four personnel sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to NHPC Hospital in Himachal Pradesh, where they later succumbed to their injuries.
Those killed have been identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh, and constables Rafiq Ahmed and Sandeep Kumar.
Police teams reached the site soon after the incident and secured the area to prevent any further untoward incident. An investigation has been initiated to establish the circumstances that led to the firing.
A senior police officer said the exact sequence of events and the reasons behind the reported altercation and subsequent firing were yet to be established. Investigators are examining all relevant aspects of the incident, and further details are awaited.
Similar incidents of fratricidal firing have occurred among security personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir in the past. Experts have cited factors such as prolonged separation from families, duty-related stress, limited recreational opportunities and gaps in command and control structures as possible contributors to such incidents.
Experts have suggested measures including regular leave to enable personnel to reunite with their families, rationalisation of duty hours, improved recreational facilities and informal interaction with commanding officers to help address incidents of fratricidal firing among deployed security forces.
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