Pathankot (Pb): A 20-year-old youth was allegedly killed while his friend sustained bullet injuries in an accidental firing incident in Bungal Badhani village here, police said today. The youths, who had gone to a farm house yesterday, were sitting outside the house when some stray dogs started barking at them, they said. 

Pankaj, who was carrying a .12 bore rifle, tried to hit the dogs with the rifle, the police said. However, the rifle accidentally went off and the bullet first hit Pankaj and then his friend Rajat, Pathankot senior superintendent of police Vivek Sheel Soni said. Rajat succumbed to the bullet injuries in a local hospital while Pankaj was undergoing treatment, he said. 

A case under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered against Pankaj, the SSP said. However, the police were investigating whether both the youths had gone for "hunting" in the village which is about 18 km from Pathankot city.