Bangalore : A constable on duty shot a police sub-inspector to death over alleged harassment at the hands of his senior officer at Rajanukunte Police Station in Bangalore Rural district on Sunday .

Constable Anand Kumar (47) barged into Sub-Inspector B S Vijay Kumar’s (39) chamber and fired three rounds with his .303 service rifle at point-blank range. Two bullets hit Vijay Kumar in the chest while the third hit his shoulder, killing him on the spot. Three other policemen present in the station immediately overpowered the constable, seized the weapon and arrested him.

Lakshman, a mechanic who was called to list the engine numbers of seized vehicles at the station, told Deccan Herald that he had heard a sound and mistook it to be a firecracker. The sound was repeated twice before he realised they were gunshots. “As I rushed inside, I found the sub-inspector slumped in his chair with his head burst open on the table in front of him,” he said.

Inspector General of Police (Central Zone) Amar Kumar Pandey, who visited the spot, told Deccan Herald that the constable had perceived partiality and harassment by the sub-inspector and the frustration led him to the extreme step.

“In the morning, Vijay Kumar took the roll call at 9:30 am when an altercation ensued between him and the constable regarding duty allocation. Anand Kumar was put on night shift on Friday and had Republic Day duty as well on Saturday morning duty, to which he strongly objected. Though he was pacified, Vijay Kumar put him on sentry duty, further enraging the constable.

“An hour after the altercation, Anand Kumar went into the officer’s room and randomly fired at him. I have inspected the station duty roster after the incident and did not find any harassment towards anyone by Vijay Kumar,” he added.

One of the head constables at the station said: “During the morning’s roll call, the altercation between the officer and the constable went out of hand and both abused each other using foul language. A furious Anand Kumar even said that he would shoot him to which Vijay Kumar retorted that even he had a revolver in his belt.

Anand Kumar was further enraged when he was put on sentry duty. Being a very senior police constable, he took it as a personal insult,” he said.

Home Minister R Ashoka later formed a committee under Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Bipin Gopalakrishna to look into the case and suggest measures and reforms to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future.-DH News