Four Army jawans killed in firing at Bathinda military station; 2 masked suspects in kurta-pyjamas were armed with rifle, axe: FIR

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh/New Delhi, April 12

Four soldiers from an artillery unit were killed in a shooting incident at the Bathinda Military Station in Punjab early Wednesday morning.

“A firing incident reported around 4.35 am inside the Bathinda Military Station. Station Quick Reaction Teams were activated. The area was cordoned off and sealed,” a senior officer said.

Bathinda SP (Investigation) Ajay Gandhi, who is heading a police team probing the incident, said two persons in civil dress were believed to behind the shooting.

A jawan saw two unidentified men in white kurta-pyjama, their faces and heads covered, coming out of the barracks after the firing. One of them was carrying an INSAS rifle and the other an axe, the jawan said, according to the police FIR.

The two suspected attackers, who were of medium height, went towards a forested area near the barracks on seeing the jawan, who later reported the matter to the police.

Subsequently, two Army officers went inside the barracks and found Sagar Banne (25) and Yogesh Kumar J (24) in a pool of blood. In another room, the bodies of Santosh M Nagaral (25) and Kamalesh R (24), were found. The bodies bore bullet marks, according to the FIR.

Two of the slain jawans hailed from Karnataka and the other two from Tamil Nadu.

Based on a complaint filed by Army Major Ashutosh Shukla, an FIR was lodged at Bathinda Cantt police station under IPC Section 302 (murder) and relevant sections of the Arms Act against two unidentified persons, the police said.

An INSAS rifle that was reported missing at the Bhatinda Military Station where four soldiers were killed in a firing incident on Wednesday morning has been found, the Army said.

An INSAS rifle from the unit and 28 rounds of ammunition had gone missing from the unit premises two days ago.

The Punjab Police, which is investigating the matter along with their military counterparts, said according to the information gathered so far, the incident was not a terrorist act.

The four personnel, in their mid 20s, were sleeping when the firing took place around 4.30 am near the barracks behind a mess.

The slain jawans were identified as Sagar Banne (25), Kamalesh R (24), Yogesh Kumar J (24) and Santosh M Nagaral (25), police said.

Earlier, the Punjab Police called it a ‘fratricidal incident’. “It is not a terrorist attack, it is not an attack from outside,” Punjab’s Additional Director General of Police, SPS Parmar, said.

It is learnt that Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the matter.

As per police, CCTV footage is being scanned and the Army is conducting a cordon-and-search operation and the entire area has been sanitised.

“Our investigation is going on jointly with military police,” Gandhi said.

“It has been ascertained that in the unfortunate incident, four army jawans of an artillery unit succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the incident. No other injuries to personnel or loss/damage to property have been reported,” the Army’s South Western command said in a statement.

It further said all aspects, including the possible case of involvement of an INSAS rifle along with 28 rounds reported missing two days back, are being ascertained.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana said in the evening, “As per the information we have gathered so far, it is clear that it is not a terrorist act.”

Earlier in the day, Khurana, while referring to the incident, had said, “It is an internal issue, it appears to be fratricidal issue. Our investigation teams have reached inside (military station) with all forensic equipment and they are conducting investigations. In-depth investigations are going on.”

Speaking to reporters, Bathinda Police Station Cantt Station House Officer Gurdeep Singh said nobody has been detained in connection with the incident so far.

Further asked when police received the complaint about the missing rifle, he said they got the information on Tuesday evening.

The Army said the area continues to be sealed off and joint investigations with the Punjab Police are being coordinated to establish facts of the case.

Bathinda is an important military installation and houses the headquarters of 10 Corps, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Jaipur-based South Western Command.

The station is also home to a large number of operational Army units and other static establishments.

“A court of inquiry will investigate the entire matter to establish the facts of the case and fix responsibility,” an officer said.

Apart from the four soldiers, there has been no other casualty in the incident nor any damage or loss to property, the Army said. With PTI inputs