Major guns down JCO during firing practice at Maharashtra's Pulgaon base

NAGPUR: A commissioned officer in the army, Major Manan Tiwari, posted at Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Pulgaon, 100km off Nagpur, in Wardha district, shot his junior in the eye from close range with a 5.56mm INSAS assault rifle during an early morning practice firing session at the base on Friday, as per the FIR registered at Pulgaon police station. Built by the British, Pulgaon houses Asia's biggest ammunition depot.

According to an eyewitness account in the FIR, Tiwari who finished his practice rounds, suddenly opened fire at Subebar Major Om Bahadur Khand, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) who was engaged in collecting empty cases at the base. Subedar Khand's skull blew up in the impact as he collapsed on the ground, say top police sources, adding he suffered at least 15 bullet wounds from a burst of fire.

Major Tiwari, who was caught by the other soldiers at the firing range is in the custody of the army and would be later handed over to Wardha police, who were initially stopped from entering CAD premises to conduct an investigation, said a top police officer.

The FIR was based on the statement by Lance Naik Bir Singh Dhami, also posted at CAD. Dhami, an eyewitness, told police he was unaware of the motive behind the killing of Subedar Major Khand.

Army spokesperson at Nagpur, Group Captain R Kannan, confirmed the JCO's death and termed it accidental during routine firing practice. "The army and Wardha police are investigating the case," he said.

Khand was deployed with defence security corps (DSC), a force where retired armymen are taken in for re-employment. DSC units are engaged in guarding army establishments like CAD, which handles various calibres of ammunition from ordnance factories and later supplies these to army units.

Pulgaon CAD has been marred by casualties in the past. In 2016, 18 persons, including an officer of Lt Colonel's rank was killed when a structure housing anti-tank mines blew up. Later, a group of workers was killed during an exercise to defuse old bombs.