Two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in a lightning strike during a training session at the Barsoor training center in Dantewada district. The two dead personnel have been identified as Constables Mahendra Kumar a resident of Uttar Pradesh and S Shahual Alam, a resident of Sahibganj in Jharkhand, of the 111th Battalion of CRPF.
The incident occurred around 3 pm when a training session was underway at the facility in the Barsoor police station area of the district, an official said. Constables Mahendra Kumar and S Sahuat Alam, belonging to the CRPF's 111th battalion, were struck by lightning and severely injured, he said. The duo was shifted to Dantewada Hospital in an ambulance, and after examination, doctors declared them dead, the official said.
A CRPF jawan died in a similar incident of lightning strike in neighbouring Bijapur district during an anti-Naxal operation on Thursday, police said.
The CRPF is extensively deployed in south Bastar, comprising Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur districts for anti-Naxal operations.
(Inputs from PTI)