Balrampur, May 27 (PTI) A police constable allegedly attempted suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district on Wednesday, police said.

Constable Mahesh Singh (29) was critically wounded after he shot himself with his INSAS rifle inside his barrack at Samri police station at around 11 am, an official said.

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Singh was deployed on security duty at a nearby COVID-19 quarantine centre, where migrant workers returning from other states were kept as a precautionary measure, he said.

The constable had returned to his barrack set up on the roof of the police station and shot himself, he said.

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On hearing the gunshot, his colleagues rushed to the scene and immediately shifted him to a local hospital, from where he was referred to a hospital in Ambikapur, the official said.

"In view of his critical condition, the injured policeman will be shifted to Raipur for treatment," he added.

Singh, a native of Devitikra village in neighbouring Surguja district, had joined duty on May 20 after two days' leave, he said.

Investigations were underway to ascertain the exact reason behind the suicide bid, the official said.

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