Family, friends pay last respects to CRPF officer Maharabam Prabo Singh who died due to lightning

IMPHAL(Manipur): The last respects were paid to CRPF officer Maharabam Prabo Singh on Saturday, who lost his life after being struck by lightning during an anti-Maoist operation on May 15 in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district.

As per officials, Second Commandant of CRPF’s 26th Battalion M Probo Singh was killed while three others were injured after lightning struck the jawans involved in anti-Naxal operations under Chotanagra Police Station area of the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

Among the three injured jawans, one is an assistant commandant of the CRPF identified as Subir Kumar Mandal, while two others include Suresh Bhagat and Chandlal Hansda, are jawans of the Chaibasa Police.

Meanwhile, the CRPF conducted the last rites of a two-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Rolo, part of the force’s elite canine squad who lost her life after she was attacked by a swarm of bees during a major anti-Naxal operation in the Karreguttalu hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

She was declared dead on April 27, 2025, with the cause of death being anaphylactic shock following 200 bee stings.

K9 Rolo, born on 05/04/2023, was trained in infantry patrolling, explosive detection and assault at DBTS in batch sl. No. 80, subsequent to which it was deployed for Anti-Naxal duties in 228 Bn, CRPF in the month of April 2024.

During the special operation at KGH, while K9 along with other troops were carrying out an intensive search operation, a sudden attack by a huge swarm of honey bees led them in surprise.

Handlers of K9 Rolo covered her with a polythene sheet to avoid being stung by the bees but it went in vain as the huge swarm of bees slipped inside the cover and stung K9 Rolo who then, due to intense pain and irritation, got out of the cover, becoming vulnerable to more stings.

Resultantly, K9 Rolo suffered around 200 bee stings, which made her unconscious. An immediate medical evacuation was performed. Emergency treatment was given by the handlers.

However, K9 Rolo succumbed to the pain and suffering and was declared brought dead by the veterinarian, as per the CRPF.

To achieve the goal of eliminating Naxalism by March 26, 2026, the security forces have been conducting the biggest ever operation, ‘Operation Black Forest’ to break the backbone Naxals near Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

The 21-day long operation carried out by the joint forces of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police between April 21 to May 11 neutralised 31 Naxals carrying a bounty of Rs 1.72 crore. (ANI)