JCO Killed During Maharashtra Firing Practice

Wardha police have asked the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon to hand over Major Manan Tiwari for questioning after a junior commissioned officer was killed during a firing practice on May 15, officials said. The officer who died was Subedar Major Om Bahadur Khand of the Defence Security Corps, according to police and the Defence Public Relations Office in Nagpur. Police have registered a case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to murder, based on a complaint by Lance Naik Birsingh Dhami. The Army has said the accused officer is in custody and that it is cooperating with the police investigation. ### What do police say happened at the Pulgaon range? The FIR says the shooting took place at the firing butt at the Pulgaon range in Wardha district during routine small-arms practice on Friday morning, May 15. According to the complaint cited by police, training at the camp had been under way since May 13, and Dhami had gone to the range around 6:30 a.m. before the fatal shooting took place later that morning. (hindustantimes.com) Between 8 a.m. and 8:20 a.m., Major Tiwari allegedly shot Khand in the left eye with an INSAS 5.56 rifle, the FIR says. Dhami told police he did not know why Tiwari killed Khand, and the FIR says soldiers at the range then took Tiwari into custody before police sent Khand’s body to a hospital. (hindustantimes.com) ### Who are the officer accused and the JCO who died? Major Manan Tiwari is posted at the Central Ammunition Depot in Pulgaon, according to police reports and local media accounts citing the FIR. Subedar Major Om Bahadur Khand, identified by the Defence PRO in Nagpur as 56 years old, was serving with the Defence Security Corps, a force used to guard military installations. (hindustantimes.com) Pulgaon is in Wardha district, about 100 km from Nagpur, and the depot there is one of the Army’s major ammunition facilities. The Times of India described it as Asia’s biggest ammunition depot, while police reporting in other outlets identified the site as the Central Ammunition Depot, Pulgaon. (indianexpress.com) ### Why are police seeking Army custody of the accused officer? Special Inspector General of Police Sandeep Patil said the investigation is in progress and that police have written to Army authorities at the depot to hand over Tiwari for questioning. Hindustan Times, citing PTI, reported that Wardha police made that request on May 18 after the Army took Tiwari into custody following the shooting. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The police request points to parallel control over the case in its first days. The FIR was filed at Pulgaon police station on May 15, but the accused officer remained in Army custody as civilian investigators sought access to question him. (indianexpress.com) ### What has the Army said in public? The Defence PRO in Nagpur said in a May 16 post on X that “Sub Maj Khand died in an incident” at the small-arms firing range in Pulgaon during routine firing practice on May 15. The spokesperson said an FIR had been registered, the accused was in custody, and the Army and police were conducting a “fair and impartial investigation.” (hindustantimes.com) Group Captain R. Kannan, speaking to the Times of India, confirmed Khand’s death and said the Army and Wardha police were investigating. That report described the death as having occurred during routine firing practice and said Khand was attached to the Defence Security Corps. (hindustantimes.com) ### What is known about safety concerns at the depot? The Pulgaon depot has seen fatal incidents before. The Times of India reported that 18 people, including a lieutenant colonel-rank officer, were killed in a 2016 explosion at a structure housing anti-tank mines, and that workers were later killed during bomb-defusing work. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) In this case, the formal inquiries now under way are the police murder investigation and the Army’s internal probe, according to the Defence PRO and Wardha police statements. The next concrete step is whether Central Ammunition Depot authorities hand over Major Tiwari to Pulgaon police for questioning as the parallel investigations continue. (hindustantimes.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)