Gujarat: CISF jawan shoots himself dead with his service weapon at Surat International Airport

A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan allegedly died by suicide at Surat International Airport on Saturday, police officials reported. The jawan, identified as 32-year-old Kisan Singh, reportedly shot himself with his service weapon in the stomach while in the airport washroom around 2:10 PM. Singh, a native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, was stationed at Surat airport as part of his CISF duties.

“He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival,” said N.V. Bharwad, Inspector of the Dumas police station.

The reason behind Singh's tragic act remains unclear. Authorities have stated that a detailed investigation is underway to determine the circumstances leading to the incident.

The jawan's death comes just days after the CISF announced a significant reduction in suicides among its personnel in 2024. Official data revealed that 15 cases of suicide were reported in the force this year, translating to 9.86 per lakh personnel. This marks a steep decline from the 25 suicides reported in 2023 and is the lowest figure recorded since 2019.

The CISF, which is responsible for guarding critical infrastructure across India, including airports, nuclear plants, and government installations, has an operational strength of over 1.51 lakh personnel. For the first time in five years, the force's suicide rate has fallen below the national average of 12.4 per lakh, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2022.

A CISF spokesperson attributed the decline in suicides to "creditable" measures taken by the force to address mental health issues and improve the overall well-being of its personnel. These steps include personalized engagement initiatives under the theme "know your men and hear your men," stress management programs involving yoga and games, an online grievance redressal system, and tele-counseling services that have reached 4,200 personnel so far. Recommendations from AIIMS on tackling mental health issues have also been implemented.

In addition, a new transfer and posting policy was introduced to enhance work-life balance for non-gazetted personnel, who constitute 98% of the force. The policy aims to ensure that personnel are stationed closer to their families and are less burdened by operational stress.

Despite these efforts, Saturday's incident underscores the challenges that still persist. The CISF guards 359 units across India, including 68 civil airports, historical monuments such as the Taj Mahal and Red Fort, and key transport systems like the Delhi Metro. The force also provides security to VVIPs and Parliament House, among other critical assets.

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• 2024
• AIIMS recommendations
• CISF
• Delhi Metro
• NCRB data
• Parliament House
• Red Fort
• Surat International Airport
• Taj Mahal
• VVIP security
• civil airports
• critical infrastructure
• grievance redressal
• jawan
• lowest suicide rate
• mental health
• national suicide rate
• non-gazetted personnel
• operational strength
• proactive measures
• service weapon
• stress management
• suicide
• tele-counseling
• transfer policy
• work-life balance
• yoga