ASI dies of gunshot from own weapon

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) died allegedly due to accidental firing from his service weapon, a self-loading rifle, here on Sunday evening.

The cop, who was deputed to guard electronic voting machines at a government school in Lamini, has been identified as Joginder Pal (52) of Kohlian village in Gurdaspur’s Narot Jaimal Singh tehsil. He is said to have died on the spot.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rajinder Minhas said they were verifying how the incident took place.

“We have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC and initiated inquest proceedings. The body of the deceased has been sent for postmortem examination. His family members have been informed about the death,” the DSP added.

This is the second case of cop death due to firing from their own service weapon this year. Previously in February, another ASI had died after a bullet got accidentally fired from his AK-47 rifle while he was cleaning it in a public park.