Pak officer fired at CRPF camp on UN mission

A Pakistani officer allegedly fired at a Central Reserve Police Force camp, which is part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in violence-hit Liberia, leaving a civilian seriously injured. There were no casualties in the CRPF camp. The incident took place on June 8 in Zwedru, the capital of Grand Gedeh County, one of the 15 counties in the West African country of Liberia.

Asked about the incident, CRPF Director General Vikram Srivastava, who is currently on an official tour to Orissa said, "There was an incident of firing in Liberia.There was, however, no casualty. We have submitted a report to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs apprising them of the incident," he said. According to CRPF officials, the incident happened when constables Jeet Singh and Kaptan Singh were manning the sentry post made of mud and bamboo. "Suddenly there was indiscriminate firing from outside the camp. The firing ended after a while. On check, we found a civilian severely injured and admitted him to hospital. We also found one rifle, three magazines, 32 live rounds and 20 empty cases infront of the camp," an official said.

An inquiry conducted by the Regional Commandant, UN Mission in Liberia Ben Wilson and others, found that the G3 rifle was issued to a Pakistani officer, Lieutenant Murad, CRPF officials said. CRPF spokesperson Ajay Chaturvedi said, "The camp was that of Male Force Police Unit which was posted for the first time last year". A Pakistan battalion is also posted in Zwedru.

Meanwhile, CRPF constable Dinesh Kumar posted with the Mahila unit in Monrovia, Liberia's capital, died in an accident. "He was hit by a truck on June 4 in Monrovia and was severely injured. He had slipped into a coma and later succumbed to injuries," Chaturvedi said.