At least four personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were killed in a fratricide incident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident was reported on September 29, with news agency PTI citing officials confirming the deaths. Further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident were not immediately available.
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The incident comes as security forces were carrying out search operations at multiple locations across Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch districts following reports of suspicious movement in the region.
Officials said the search operations were launched at nearly a dozen locations on Tuesday. The operations were part of heightened security activity in the three districts, although the available initial reports did not establish a direct link between the search operations and the CISF incident.
The deaths of the four personnel have raised the focus on the incident involving members of the security force. Fratricide refers to an incident in which personnel belonging to the same armed or security force are killed by a fellow member.
Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident and establish the sequence of events. Details regarding the identities of those killed, the personnel involved and the circumstances that led to the firing were not immediately available in the initial reports.
Kathua is among the districts in the Jammu region where security forces have conducted operations in response to reports of militant activity and suspicious movement in recent years. The district shares an international border with Pakistan and has remained part of the wider security grid in Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest incident was reported as security agencies continued operations in parts of the Jammu region. Further details are expected as officials gather information and the investigation progresses.
The CISF, a central armed police force under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for security at critical infrastructure and installations, including airports, industrial units and other strategic facilities.
At this stage, officials have not publicly provided additional details about the cause of the fratricide incident or whether any arrests or disciplinary action have followed. The initial information remains subject to further official confirmation.
