BSF assistant commandant shot dead by trooper in Punjab

Amritsar, May 6 (IANS) An assistant commandant of the Border Security Force (BSF) was killed when a constable fired at him from his service rifle at a post on the India-Pakistan border, BSF officials said here Tuesday.

Assistant Commandant J.C. Pandey, who was posted as company commander at border outpost (BOP) Rattoke in Khemkaran sector, died on the spot Monday after constable Anil Kumar Kharia fired at him from his Insas rifle, said a BSF spokesman.

Kharia, who was allegedly nursing a grudge against the officer for reporting his (Kharia's) indiscipline act earlier, fired two bursts at Pandey from his rifle at close range.

The accused fled from the spot after committing the crime along with his rifle but was apprehended by BSF personnel from a bunker, about 1.5 km from the BOP.

A case of murder has been registered against Kharia at police station Khemkaran.

Pandey, who hailed from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, is survived by his wife and a three-year-old daughter.

The BSF mans the 553-km long international border between India and Pakistan in Punjab sector.