A security officer guarding an ATM cash vehicle was killed in an accidental shooting in Lucknow.

Security guard Chote Lal Verma, 40, of Sitapur, India, was shot and killed while on escort duty of a cash van loading currencies at an ATM booth on Tuesday in the Bakshi Ka talab police station area of Lucknow. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police, BKT, Amit Kumawat, Verma was accidentally shot in the throat. A bullet casing was found inside the cash van, and he said it appeared to be from Chhote Lal’s SBBL Rifle. He added, “The police took in its custody the DVR of CCTV installed in the cash van and were analyzing the DVR to find the minute details related to the incident and an action would be initiated accordingly.” At around 11:30 a.m., Chhote Lal, accompanied by another security guard and staff of SIS Security Company manning the cash loading work in the ATMs, arrived at the Bank of India ATM situated near the BKT railway station. The ACP said a forensic team also inspected the crime scene and collected evidence from the scene to guide the investigation of the case. Chhote Lal stayed in the van with the driver as the other guard and the cash loaders went inside the machine. They heard a gunshot and emerged from the ATM to see Chhote Lal lying on the ground, head cocked to one side, bleeding profusely from a wound to the neck. SHO, BKT, BC Tiwari, said that Chote Lal worked as security guard with the SIS Company and was sitting in the front seat (adjacent to the seat of the driver) with his SBBL Rifle in his hand. The commuters also gathered at the scene, and the police were notified. By the time the police arrived, the victim had been rushed to the 100 Bed Hospital in the Sadhamau locality of BKT, where he was pronounced dead. “He was drinking water from a bottle when the rifle fell down on the floor of the van and the gun went off, sending a bullet hurtling through the air and into his throat,” the SHO said.