Paramilitary trooper shoots self in Odisha

A paramilitary trooper engaged in anti-Maoist operations Friday committed suicide by shooting himself in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said.

"The 40-year-old Central Reserve Police Force trooper K.A. Narayan shot himself in a CRPF camp at Gajalbadi village, about 350 km from Bhubaneswar with the service rifle of one of his colleagues," a senior district police official told IANS.

"The exact cause of his suicide has not yet been ascertained," he said.

Narayan was a native of West Bengal and was depressed for the past few days, he said.

Troopers engaged in anti-Maoist operations often work under mental pressure as they stay away from their families for months together.

A trooper with the state's anti-Maoist Special Operations Group (SOG) had shot himself Aug 9 in Koraput district of the state. Similarly, another SOG jawan from the same district committed suicide in May after killing three family members and a car driver with his service rifle.

In a separate incident, a paramilitary trooper ended his life in July by shooting himself in Rayagada district.

Another paramilitary trooper shot himself in January with his service weapon in Kandhamal district.