Boy dies as Army jawan ‘opens fire’,Jaya condemns incident

The family of the boy,who later succumbed to injuries at a government hospital,also alleged that an Army jawan had shot at him.

“The Army jawan could have easily realised that the boy who tried to climb a tree was not an extremist or a terrorist. It is condemnable that the boy was shot. Such opening of fire is not acceptable,” she said in a statement.

Jayalalithaa,who announced a Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victim’s family,said the Chief Secretary had written to the General Officer Commanding to hand over the jawan,who committed the “brutal act”,to the state police.

Dilshan was allegedly shot by an Army jawan when he tried to pluck some fruits from the premises housing residential quarters.

An Army spokesperson,however,said there was no armed guard inside the Island Ground colony near the Tamil Nadu secretariat.

The incident sparked tension in the area with locals strongly protesting against the firing. Locals and police engaged in a scuffle in which a policeman sustained injuries.

Police used canes to disperse the crowd.

A case has been registered and the city police as well as Military Police are investigating the incident.

The Chief Minister said she would ensure that proper legal action was initiated against the jawan and urged people to remain calm.