Chhattisgarh CAF Officer’s Suicide in Kondagaon Sparks Mental Health Concerns

A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) platoon commander, Dinesh Singh Chandel, died by suicide late Sunday night, August 3, 2025, at the CAF’s 2nd battalion camp in Bayanar village, Kondagaon district, using his AK-47 service rifle. The incident, reported by Additional Superintendent of Police Kaushalendra Dev Patel, has raised alarm as the third suicide by security personnel in Chhattisgarh within two weeks, spotlighting mental health challenges in the state’s high-pressure conflict zones.

Chandel, a resident of Bhilai, Durg district, shot himself inside his room at the camp. Colleagues, alerted by the gunshot around 11 p.m., found him deceased and informed senior authorities. “Preliminary investigations suggest family issues may have contributed, but the exact cause is still under probe,” Patel said. A police team has taken possession of the body for post-mortem, and a case has been registered to investigate the circumstances, with officers interviewing Chandel’s colleagues and family.

This tragedy follows a July 30, 2025, incident in Bijapur, where a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable took his life with his service weapon, and another CAF officer’s suicide in Raipur on December 29, 2024. According to a July 17, 2025, statement by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, 177 security personnel, including 40 from paramilitary forces like CRPF and BSF, died by suicide in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and June 15, 2025, with causes often linked to family issues, health problems, and the stress of anti-Naxal operations in Bastar. In 2024 alone, 29 personnel took their lives, and eight were recorded in 2025 by mid-June.

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The recurring suicides have intensified scrutiny on the mental well-being of security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist-affected regions. The CAF, alongside CRPF and BSF, is heavily deployed in Bastar for anti-Naxal operations, where personnel face prolonged isolation, high-risk deployments, and limited access to mental health support. Social media posts on X, under hashtags like #ChhattisgarhSuicides and #MentalHealthInUniform, reflect public concern, with users calling for counseling programs and better welfare measures. One post noted, “Three suicides in two weeks? The state needs to act fast to support our jawans.”

Chhattisgarh’s government has acknowledged the crisis, with Sharma detailing welfare initiatives like stress management workshops and helplines in his assembly reply. However, critics argue these measures are inadequate, pointing to the lack of on-ground psychologists in remote camps. The state’s home department is now under pressure to expedite investigations and implement robust mental health interventions to prevent further tragedies among its 60,000-strong security personnel.

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