Constable deployed for BJP leader's security dies of 'accidental' gunshot wound in UP's Jaunpur

Representative image of a gun.

Credit: iStock Image

Jaunpur: A 30-year-old police constable deployed for the security of a BJP leader died allegedly after his rifle accidentally went off in this Uttar Pradesh district, an official said on Sunday.

Ratnesh Prajapati was part of the security detail of BJP leader Manoj Singh, said Additional Superintendent of Police Shailendra Singh.

Prajapati suffered a bullet injury and was taken to a hospital in a serious condition. He died during treatment, he added.

Preliminary investigations suggest that his firearm went off accidentally while the constable was cleaning it, the police said and added that a detailed probe was underway.

The constable's family members have been informed, they added.

BJP leader Singh, a former vice-president of the Allahabad University Students' Union, was the saffron party's candidate in the 2020 assembly bypoll from Malhani.