Policeman injured in gun incident outside PMO

New Delhi: A head constable of the Delhi Armed Police (DAP) sustained minor injuries after a colleague's revolver accidentally discharged outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's heavily guarded office here.

Head Constable Sanjiv Kumar was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital at around noon with a bullet wound to his left thigh but doctors said he was out of danger, police said.

Kumar's colleague, Constable Suraj Pal, was arrested following the incident which apparently occurred when both were inside a small cabin in the parking area outside the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

It is still unclear how the gun misfired but police sources claimed that Kumar had taken the .38 bore service revolver from Pal and was fiddling with it when it went off.

"We have registered a case of negligent firing and mishandling of firearms. Suraj Pal has been arrested and Sanjiv Kumar's statement is being recorded," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

"Sanjiv Kumar could also be arrested once the inquiry is concluded," Bhagat said.

No security breach

A joint team of Delhi Police and intelligence officials quizzed Pal at length.

Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi Range) Ajay Kashyap said there had been no security breach at the PMO.

"There was no security breach. It was a case of accidental fire. Sanjiv was injured when a bullet was accidentally fired from the service revolver of Suraj Pal," Kashyap said.

The gunshot brought officers of the elite Special Protection Group, responsible for security in the area, rushing to the spot.

Suraj Pal is from the New Delhi district police while Sanjiv is with the DAP. Both were deployed outside the PMO.

In May last year, a 42-year-old property dealer, Kishori Lal Sehgal, allegedly shot himself near the Jaipur Polo Ground opposite the prime minister's residence in an apparent suicide bid.