CRPF jawan killed in lightning strike during anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh

Bijapur: A 23-year-old jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) died after lightning struck him during an anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, an official said.

Constable Kamlesh Hemla lost his life when a squad of CRPF’s 85th battalion was out on an area domination operation from its Kavadgaon camp in adjoining areas in the morning, the police official said.

During patrolling, it started to rain and Hemla suffered injuries after being struck by lightning, he said.

He succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to a hospital in Bijapur, the official said.

A resident of Santoshpur village in the district, Hemla belonged to the Bastariya Battalion, a special unit of the CRPF comprising youth scouted from the Naxal-affected districts of the Bastar region. He was posted at the camp of CRPF’s 85th battalion in Kavadgaon, he said.

An accidental death report has been registered and further probe is underway, he added.