Mobile rings death for young cop

Trainee sepoy Rubin Ekka, guarding the armoury at the Police Training School (PTS) at Nayagarh, Orissa, wanted to pick up his gun and fire at the Maoists. But before he could lay his hands on his rifle, his mobile rang and he was shot dead by the Maoists.

After the Maoists killed three cops at the PTS armoury, the other khaki men guarding the establishment were asked to lie on the ground without making a sound. Don’t move, they were told. The Naxals then tied their hands one by one.

Ekka, who was lying on the ground, however, wanted to pick up his gun before the Maoists could tie him up.

He thought he could outwit them, so under the cover of darkness, he began to crawl towards his gun. But before he could reach it, his mobile rang and the Maoists discovered that Ekka had moved despite their orders. He was shot dead.

Reserve inspector Juria Behera of PTS told HT: “As soon as his mobile rang, the game was up. Ekka was shot dead.” Drill sub-inspector Somanath Swain, havildar Shatrughan Panda and havildar Rajkishore Pradhan were also lost their lives defending the armoury.