A BSF personnel was injured when a rifle of a Tamil Nadu Special Police constable went off at a counting centre in nearby Sankagiri where EVMs used in the April 13 Assembly elections are being stored. 25-year old Sugumar Sathatk,a constable with a BSF battalion based in Rajasthan,was admitted to the Mohan Kumaramangalam General Hospital here and his condition was stated to be out of danger,District Collector and Election Officer J Chandrakumar said on Friday. Police said Sathatk had asked TNSP constable Kandiyak (26) to explain how to operate the .303 rifle. As he was demonstrating,the loaded rifle went off with the bullet hitting the BSF man in his shoulder. Police said Kandiyak has been suspended. Both the constables were on security duty at the counting centre,a government school in Sankagiri,about 35 km from here. Agriculture Minister Veerapandi Arumugam and AIADMK's Vijayalakshmi Palanichamy are the main contenders in the constituency. The collector,Salem Commissioner of Police Sunil Kumar Singh and DIG Venkatraman visited the spot and conducted inquiries. District Judicial Magistrate Muralidharan recorded a statement from the injureed BSF constable. The incident at the counting centre led to tension in the town.
