A second instance of firing in panic by a Village Defence Guard member in a Rajouri village in less than a week has turned the spotlight afresh on arming untrained or poorly trained civilians to fight militants.

A VDG member, identified by locals as Yashpal, opened fire in Rajouri’s Andorra village on Friday night from a .303 rifle after a purported knock at his door, triggering panic in the area. None was injured.

Andorra resident Rattan Lal, the husband of the local sarpanch, said the VDG member opened fire at 9.05pm after he heard a knock at his door. The VDG member is not an ex-serviceman, who are being given semi-automatic rifles, and has no proper training, locals said.

“He told us that somebody knocked at his door and the door of his brother’s house nearby. He said he opened fire when nobody responded to his call. There was obviously panic,” Lal told The Telegraph.

“Nobody came out of their homes to check what had happened as it was late in the evening. Police reached the spot to inquire but residents ventured out only in the morning,” he added.

Earlier on January 9 evening, a VDG member had opened fire after a presumed militant activity. He also was not an ex-military man and his weapon was a .303 rifle. There were no injuries.

Andorra residents said the January 1 firing by militants in Dhangri village that killed seven civilians had made locals fearful, forcing them indoors early around 5 or 6pm.

“We do not know who knocked at his (Yashpal’s) home but it is advisable that VDG members are given weapons after proper training,” Lal said.

Rajouri District Development Council chairman Choudhary Naseem Liaqat, who visited the village on Saturday, said the two firing incidents in the last few days by panicky VDG members were worrying.

“I think it is better to deploy soldiers in the vulnerable areas rather than arming civilians with no training. Even if civilians have to be armed, there is a need to impart proper training. These incidents betray a lack of training,” Liaqat told this newspaper.

“It can have dangerous consequences and can cause more harm. I have even seen pictures of some VGD members with arms posting pictures on Facebook and openly daring militants. After the tragic attack (at Dhangri), some people raised a demand for arms and the government lost no time and started to arm them,” he added.

Jammu has nearly 30,000 VDGs and the government has begun arming more people following the recent attack. Some of them have been armed with semi-automatic SLRs.