The Central Reserve Police Force on Tuesday said that an assistant commandant of the force, who hailed from Manzgam village in Baramulla district, died fighting Maoists in Jharkhand on Monday.
The force had told Ghulam Jeelani Khan’s family yesterday that he was electrocuted.
“Assistant commandant Gulam Jeelani Khan of 157 battalion sacrificed his life in an anti-Maoist operation in Sinjani, Khunti, Jharkhand. The young officer saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and made ultimate sacrifice in the service of nation while leading his troops from the front”, CRPF wrote on its twitter handle on Tuesday.
An official source said the body was being sent to the officer’s village for last rites.
‘CONFLICTING VERSIONS’
The family of the deceased said they received conflicting reports from the officials of the CRPF about his death.
“At around 8.30pm on Monday, we received a communication from CRPF authorities based in Jharkhand that Jilani died due to electrocution while his team was patrolling in a forest,” said Sajid Khan, cousin of the deceased.
He added: “Another communication from Ranchi control room told us Khan died while he was on a project site.”
A mass communication graduate from Baramulla degree college, Khan was appointed in the CRPF in 2016. He, according to the family, was recently transferred to Jharkhand.