MP: 3 RAF men injured after rifle discharges accidentally

Three Rapid Action Force personnel were Friday injured when a firearm accidentally discharged while it was being cleaned in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, a police official said.

A rifle went off accidentally when it was being cleaned as part of "shastra puja", a ritual observed during Dussehra as part of which security forces worship their service weapons, Superintendent of Police Ruchivardhan Mishra told PTI.

While the person cleaning the rifle was not injured, the discharged bullet hit a sub inspector and two constables of the force, the official said.

One of the personnel, who took a hit on the thigh, has been shifted to Indore for treatment.

The SP said that an RAF team, a specialised anti-riot unit of the CRPF, is putting up at a local inn as part of a security detail in place for the festive season.

Both the district police and the RAF are probing the incident separately, the SP said.