Enraged at having burnt his mouth upon drinking hot water served to him by a jawan, a DIG-rank CRPF officer allegedly threw it on his face, prompting the force to order an inquiry, officials said on Wednesday.
The purported incident took place on Tuesday at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recruit training centre in Bihar's Rajgir district.
An official communication by the force said Deputy Inspector General DK Tripathi, who was staying at the officers' mess of the institute for an official work, had ordered hot drinking water.
Constable Amol Kharat was on duty at the facility and he served him the water in a thermos flask.
The officer, posted at the CRPF group centre in Mokamaghat in Bihar, is said to have burnt his mouth upon drinking the hot water, following which he summoned Kharat.
An altercation ensued between the two and the DIG "threw" hot water on the jawan's face and in his winter jersey.
The jawan has been admitted to a local hospital.
When contacted by PTI, Tripathi said as the inquiry is underway it will not be proper on his part to comment on the "one-sided story" in circulation.
Officials said a preliminary inquiry by an Inspector General (IG)-rank officer of the force has been ordered.
Prima facie it looks to be a case of "accident" and spilling of hot water when the altercation between the two happened, they said.
However, the inquiry report, along with specific recommendations, is expected by 10 January only after which the exact sequence of events and culpability could be established, they said. An association of ex-paramilitary officials said the jawan "is being pressured to give statement that the burn injuries were due to spilling of boiled water from the flask".
"The constable is not being allowed to speak to his family members and colleagues. His mobile phone has been snatched by senior officers," the confederation of ex-paramilitary forces personnel welfare association said.
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