An Army jawan died of a gunshot wound after his service weapon accidentally went off in Bathinda, Punjab, police said on Thursday, adding that there is no link to the Bathinda military station killings a day earlier.
According to the Army, the incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Bathinda Military Station. The Army also stated that it has “no connection” to the incident that occurred yesterday at the Bathinda Military Station, in which four jawans were injured. The Army said that the soldier was on sentry duty with his service weapon and the case “purportedly seems to be of attempted suicide”. He was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
“The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital but succumbed to his injuries,” the Army said.
The soldier had returned from leave on April 11.
“The case purportedly seems to be of attempted suicide. There is no connection whatsoever with the incident that took place at Bathinda Military Station yesterday,” the Army said.
SHO, Bathinda Cantt Police Station said, “An Army jawan died of a bullet injury as his service weapon went off accidentally in Punjab’s Bathinda last night. The deceased jawan has been identified as Laghu Raj Shankar.”
Meanwhile, security was tightened in Talwandi Sabo of Bathinda district in view of the three-day-long Baisakhi mela that began at Damdama Sahib Gurudwara.
“In view of the Baisakhi festival, security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order and to avoid any kind of untoward incident,” DSP Sanjeev Kumar said.
The army said four army jawans from an artillery unit died from gunshot wounds sustained during the April 12 incident at the Bathinda Military Station. There were no other injuries or property damage reported in the incident, according to the statement.
According to the army, an INSAS rifle and 28 rounds have been reported missing for the past two days, and some personnel may be responsible for this incident.
According to sources, Army Chief General Manoj Pandey briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the incident. On Wednesday, Punjab Police filed an FIR against two unknown individuals in connection with the firing at the Bathinda Military Station.
The FIR was filed based on the testimony of Major Ashutosh Shukla, a witness in the shooting incident.
The four murdered jawans have been identified as Sagar, Kamlesh, Santosh, and Yogesh, according to the FIR.
They were sleeping in their rooms after finishing their shifts when two masked men in white kurta pyjamas attacked them with rifles and razor-sharp weapons. The four jawans were discovered in a pool of blood in their rooms.
One of the weapons used in the crime had been seized, according to the police.
Speaking to ANI, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bathinda, Gulneet Khurana, said, “Our investigating team carried out a search operation and we seized a weapon used to commit the offence.”
“We can only confirm if this is the same weapon that was stolen from inside the camp once the forensic report is out. The investigation is underway. Bathinda Police is in contact with the Army,” the SSP added.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Bathinda Range Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, ruled out a terror angle in the said incident.
