A police havildar deployed on the premises of the Unesco world heritage Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar was found dead on Friday afternoon and a senior officer said prima facie, he had been hit by bullets fired by his own carbine.

The incident occurred around 1.40pm and the sound of firing alerted other security personnel on the temple premises. Additional forces, senior police officers and Gaya district magistrate Thiyagarajan S.M. rushed to the spot.

The body of 43-year-old Amarjeet Kumar Yadav, a havildar of the Swabhiman Battalion of the Bihar Special Armed Police, was found. His weapon — a carbine (akin to Sterling submachine gun) — was lying close to him.

“Prima facie, it seems Yadav was hit by bullets fired by his own carbine. He died on the spot. It seems four bullets were fired from the weapon and all of them hit him. We have sealed the spot for further technical, scientific and forensic investigations. Forensic and other investigation teams have been called. Our senior officers are camping at the site,” Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashish Bharti told The Telegraph.

The SSP added that the entry of devotees to the temple was stopped for around half an hour after the incident.

“Footage from the CCTV cameras is being examined to find out more about the incident,” Bharti said.

A couple of police officers were of the opinion that the havildar slipped and fell while on duty and the bullets got fired in the process, hitting him point blank.

“We have sent the body for post-mortem. A clear picture will emerge only after the report comes. Yadav suffered multiple injuries and one bullet seemed to have hit him in the chest,” Gaya city superintendent of police (SP) Himanshu Kumar said.