Indian paramilitary trooper kills 4 colleagues, wounds 3 others

NEW DELHI, Nov. 8: A paramilitary trooper belonging to India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday killed his four colleagues and wounded three others inside a stationed camp in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, officials said.

The incident happened at about 3:25 a.m. (local time) on Monday at a CRPF camp in Lingampalli village of Sukma district, about 410 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"Early today a CRPF constable fired upon his colleagues inside his camp here killing four and wounding three others," a police official said. "The wounded personnel have been hospitalized."

The bodies of the dead were sent for post-mortem.

The motive behind the incident was not immediately known, and the trooper has been detained, police said.

"It is a matter of investigation and the police have initiated a probe into it," the official said.

Chhattisgarh is a Naxal-affected zone and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state to take on Naxals.

Many incidents among stationed armed force personnel across India have been reported in the past.

Health experts say continued separation from family, long duty hours, lack of recreational facilities, poor command and control structure were usually found to be reasons behind such incidents.