Soldier dies in ‘mysterious firing’ at Sunjuwan

Jammu, September 2

A soldier was killed after he sustained bullet injuries in a ‘mysterious firing’ at a sentry post inside the Sunjuwan Military Station in Jammu on Monday morning. Initial reports suggested a terror attack, but the Army refuted the reports in the evening.

According to officials, Naik Kuldeep Singh of Punjab was on guard duty when he was hit by a bullet in the head at the Sunjuwan Military Station on the outskirts of Jammu. He was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

The firing incident caused hundreds of children to be stranded at the Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) inside the military station due to security reasons. Parents anxiously queued outside the station as children were released one by one with security cover by the Army around 3.45 pm.

In an initial statement, Army spokesperson Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said around 10.50 am, few rounds were fired at the Sunjawan Military Station that left one soldier critically injured. “An operation has been launched and further details are being ascertained,” he said.

In the evening, Bartwal said, “Initial investigations by the Indian Army suggest that the incident in which a soldier lost his life in the morning is not a terror attack. The Army did not confirm the actual cause of the death.”

The Sunjuwan Military station is surrounded by many buildings. Heavy security deployment was made in the area with Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K Police and Army searching the residential and commercial establishments in the nearby areas.

It was earlier believed that it was a terror incident in which a sniper fired at a sentry post. Drones and sniffer dogs were also used by the police and Army to identify any suspicious person in the area.

Ajay Sharma, Superintendent of Police (South), said that the sound of two gun fires was heard after which a search operation was launched. Other senior police officials also reached the spot, but media was kept away from the site of the incident.

Notably, the Sunjuwan Military Station has been targeted by terrorists in the past as well. A terror attack in 2018 on the Sunjawan military camp had claimed the lives of six soldiers, a civilian and three terrorists.