Security has been tightened following the shooting incident at the Bathinda Military Station: Tribune Photo: Pawan Sharma
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
11:44 12 Apr
The Indian Army has said all the four persons who died in the firing at Bathinda are jawans of an artillery unit.
No other injuries to personnel or loss or damage to property have been reported, the South Western Command said.
The area continues to be sealed off and joint investigations with Punjab Police are being coordinated to establish the facts of the case.
All aspects, including the possible case of involvement of an INSAS rifle along with 28 rounds reported missing two days back are being ascertained.
11:01 12 Apr
#WATCH | The gates of the Bathinda Military Station have been closed following a firing incident that has left four dead. Punjab police sources have said that there is no terror angle to the incident.
— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2023
Visuals from outside the military station deferred by unspecified time. pic.twitter.com/b91Wc75WeX
10:49 12 Apr
Punjab's Additional Director General of Police, SPS Parmar, said, "It is not a terrorist attack, it is not an attack from outside. It is a fratricidal incident".
10:27 12 Apr
According to sources, the incident took place near the officers’ mess of an artillery unit based at the station.
Initial reports point the incident to be a case of to a fatricide. Sources said that an INSAS rifle from the unit and some rounds of ammunition had gone missing from the unit premises two days ago.
“A court of inquiry will investigate the entire matter to establish the facts of the case and fix responsibility,” an officer said.
10:25 12 Apr
#WATCH | Visuals from outside Bathinda Military Station where four casualties have been reported in firing inside the station in Punjab; search operation underway pic.twitter.com/jgaaGVIdMS
— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2023
10:21 12 Apr
All the entry gates of the Army Cantt in Bathinda have been closed. About two days ago one Insas rifle with 28 cartridges had gone missing. Some army personnel may be behind this incident: Punjab Police sources
— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2023
10:11 12 Apr
Search operations are in progress and quick reaction teams have been deployed, it is learnt.
10:09 12 Apr
Army says apparently it is not a terror attack
10:08 12 Apr
The Bathinda Military Station has been cordoned off, the army said, and that further details of the incident were being ascertained.
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