CRPF trooper shoots self in Ayodhya

A CRPF trooper shot himself dead with his service weapon at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya town, police said Wednesday.

N. Rajgopalan from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who was positioned in the high security 'red zone' of the disputed land in Ayodhya, about 140 km from here, used his AK-47 to kill himself, a police officer said.

Rajgopalan was rushed to a nearby medical facility, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Faizabad Subhash Chand Baghel said: "He shot himself by the service weapon. We are looking into what led him to take such an extreme step."