Now Reading: VDG member kills colleague, injures another in Udhampur brawl
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VDG member kills colleague, injures another in Udhampur brawl
A Village Defence Guard (VDG) member shot dead a colleague and critically injured another in Udhampur district on Friday after an altercation in Damnote area, near Panchari. Surjeet Singh allegedly opened fire…
The Story in Brief
A Village Defence Guard (VDG) member shot dead a colleague and critically injured another in Udhampur district on Friday after an altercation in Damnote area, near Panchari. Surjeet Singh allegedly opened fire on fellow VDGs Baldev Singh and Ramesh Singh around 10 am. The injured was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhampur.
Initial probe suggests personal enmity, officials said. The three outlets differ on whether the accused was arrested: Times of India reports Surjeet was arrested soon after, while The Hindu says he was on the run and Greater Kashmir says efforts to arrest were ongoing. The Hindu notes this is the second such VDG-related killing in Jammu in two years; a woman was killed by a VDG in Kishtwar in 2025. VDGs are armed civilian volunteers revived after the 2023 Dangri attack.
The Indian Opinion
This fratricide will inevitably fuel calls to disarm VDGs, but the real story is poor oversight, not the concept itself. The Hindu reports 160 criminal cases involving VDC/VDG members before 2006, a number the government has not updated. Instead of rushing to scrap a network that helps in militant-prone areas, the administration should fix vetting and discipline. The test will be whether the accused is actually arrested and charge-sheeted, or if the case vanishes.
Sources (3): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindu.com, greaterkashmir.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
