Policeman shoots self at ONGC complex, critical

A 40-year-old police naik [rank below that of a police constable] shot himself with a self-loading rifle (SLR) at Chembur on Thursday night. HT reports.

A 40-year-old police naik [rank below that of a police constable] shot himself with a self-loading rifle (SLR) at Chembur on Thursday night.

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In the past

June 15: Pravin Waigankar, a constable from Sewri police station, was found hanging in his BDD chawl room in Naigaon.

April 18: Inspector Shivaji Patil committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver at Borivli police station. Patil’s suicide note said he had married twice and his first wife was troubling him. He also mentioned health problems.

February 8: Shivaji Shinde (60), a retired assistant police inspector, jumped off the Marine Drive bridge and died. Shinde’s last posting was at the Azad Maidan police station in 2005.

Police naik Sarjerao Jadhav was posted at the main gate of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Chembur.

There is a permanent police chowkie next to the security cabin.

Jadhav shot himself in the chin. Doctors at Sion hospital, where he is being treated, said his condition is critical.

Jadhav was attached to the Dharavi police station for the last one and half years.

Four days ago, a senior officer reprimanded him when he reported on bandobast duty drunk. He stayed away from work for three days after that.

On Thursday, when he resumed work, he took the SLR and shot himself. The police immediately called a local doctor, Dr Khayoom Qureshi.

“The bullet went through his head. He had suffered severe blood loss,” Qureshi said.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Central region) Vineet Agarwal said: “We are yet to ascertain why Jadhav took such an extreme step.”

Senior Inspector Hemant Patil of Dharavi police station was not available for comment.

The police are searching for Jadhav’s family, who, according to police sources, had recently moved residence.

The police are unable to trace his family’s contact details because his mobile phone had been damaged.