A constable attached to the armed reserve police reportedly shot himself while on guard duty at the Jayalalithaa memorial in Chennai. The shooting happened in the early hours of Sunday.

According to reports, Arun Raj who was 22 years old, was on guard duty along with three others from the armed reserve. He was holding a .303 rifle and was posted at on corner of the venue, which is along the Marina beach.

His colleagues suddenly heard the sound of gunfire close to 5 am and when they went to investigate they found Arun Raj dead. He was reportedly lying in a pool of blood after having shot himself in the neck. It is unclear if it was a suicide or an accidental shooting.

He was rushed to the closest Government hospital where a post mortem was conducted. The body has been handed over to the family.  Following the incident, Police Commissioner AK Viswananthan has also visited the spot.