Kathua/New Delhi: Four personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), including an Assistant Commandant, were killed on Tuesday evening after a colleague opened fire at a unit deployed at a hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. According to the CISF, the accused entered the office premises carrying his issued AK-47 rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition.
The incident occurred around 6.40–7.30 p.m. on 29 September 2026 at the CISF camp guarding the Sewa Power Project (also reported as Sewa-II or Sewa-III) in Mashka village, Basohli, near the Himachal Pradesh border. An argument among personnel preceded the shooting. Head Constable Awadhesh (also reported as Avdesh or Awdhesh) Kumar Singh, a 2009-batch jawan, then entered the office and opened indiscriminate fire with his service weapon.
The deceased have been identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh, Constable Rafiq Ahmed (also reported as Mohd. Rafiq) and Constable Sandeep Kumar (also reported as Sanjeev Kumar). The four were initially injured and taken to an NHPC hospital in Himachal Pradesh, where they succumbed to their injuries.
CISF sources stated that the accused was carrying 150 rounds at the time. The service AK-47 was seized after the incident. Fellow personnel overpowered Singh at the site. Kathua Police arrested him and took him into custody. Senior CISF officers reached the location.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the argument and the sequence of events. The CISF headquarters has ordered a Court of Inquiry. The exact trigger for the dispute has not been established. Police and CISF teams are examining statements from other personnel present.
The CISF unit was responsible for security at the hydroelectric station on the Sewa River, a tributary of the Ravi. The incident has been described as a case of fratricide. The Director General of CISF is monitoring the probe.
