SPO killed in Jammu had concerns over deployment, locals claim
Family members and villagers alleged that Special Police Officer Bobby Chand had expressed apprehensions regarding his weekly duty rotations.
Special Police Officer (SPO) Bobby Chand and his nephew Rachpal Kumar were killed in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir this week, according to The Indian Express.
The bodies of the two men were discovered in Marwah tehsil on Thursday, less than 24 hours after they were reported missing. Local villagers stated the men were stationed at a Special Operations Group (SOG) post in Kiyar.
Family members and villagers claimed that Chand had raised concerns about being sent every week to a Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Temporary Operational Base (TOB) in Dharna village. They alleged he was worried about being assigned duties outside his official posting area.
Villagers told police officers that the men were returning to the Kiyar post after a week of duty when they encountered locals in the forest. The deceased were reportedly walking ahead of civilians carrying rations on ponies when they came under fire, according to local accounts.
Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar, who belongs to the BJP, called for an inquiry into the officer who created the duty roster. She also criticised the timing of the visit by senior police officials to the families in Kiyar.
Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma also questioned the operational strategy used during the deployment. On Saturday, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Tejinder Singh, DIG Sargun Shukla, and Kishtwar SSP Sunny Gupta visited the families in Kiyar.