A havildar of the Special Operations Group, Odisha’s elite police force to fight Maoists was killed while trying to save a trainee cadet from a grenade explosion during a training session on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, a police official said.
Havildar Prakash Sahu (35) of Bargarh district was killed when shrapnel pierced his vital organs. The trainee cadet was also injured in the explosion and is now under treatment at a hospital.
During the Anti Extremist and Tactics Course of the Cadet Sergeants at SOG Training and Resource Centre in Chandaka area of Bhubaneswar on Tuesday afternoon, 18 cadets were required to practise lobbing live grenades.
The training session for new cadets has been on for the last six days. While 17 cadets successfully lobbed the live grenades, the last one became nervous and the grenade slipped from his hand.
“After pulling the pin of the grenade, the trainee sergeant was supposed to keep the striker lever pressed in his palm so as not to start the detonation process. However, the cadet got nervous and dropped the grenade releasing the striker lever that set off an explosion …. The havildar who was standing behind the cadet, pushed him away from the scene of explosion and ended up getting hit by the full force of the shrapnel,” said a senior official of the SOG.
Sahu and the cadet were immediately shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar. While the havildar succumbed to his injuries, the condition of the cadet sergeant is stable. Sahu is survived by his wife and a 12-year-old son.
{{/usCountry}}Sahu and the cadet were immediately shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar. While the havildar succumbed to his injuries, the condition of the cadet sergeant is stable. Sahu is survived by his wife and a 12-year-old son.
{{/usCountry}}The SOG, modelled after the elite Greyhound police commandos of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was created in 2004 to be a cutting-edge force to counter the Maoist menace.