A Village Defence Committee (VDC) member died by suicide by shooting himself in the Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir police said on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Suresh Kumar Sharma, son of Sukhdev Sharma, of Bai-Nambal village in the Kandi area of Rajouri.
Sharma was working as a VDC member and died by suicide by shooting himself with the weapon issued to him as a VDC member.
The incident occurred around 9:00 pm on Monday, when Sharma shot himself with his own gun, leading to his immediate death at the scene.
The police arrived at the site of the incident shortly after and are currently investigating the matter.
Advertisement
Senior police officials in Rajouri confirmed the incident saying that further investigation is in progress.
This comes after the central government's recent decision to re-establish Village Defense Committees (VDCs) to fight against "anti-India militancy" in Jammu and Kashmir.
The VDCs were initially established in 1995 when the central government armed volunteers, mostly Hindus, to fight militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
Over the years, the number of VDC members has grown to over 27,000.
