KOCHI: The Kochi Naval Base woke up on Tuesday to the shock of finding the lifeless body of a 19-year-old Indian Navy sailor guarding a watchtower. The Navy and the police suspect the incident to be a case of suicide.
The deceased officer was identified as Thushar Attri, an unmarried sailor hailing from Tappal village, Jarailiya, Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. Thushar was found dead at the C2 watchtower located in Katari Bagh inside the Naval Base between 2.30am and 3.30am. A bullet was apparently discharged from his service rifle INSAS at a pointblank range.
“Attri was guarding the watchtower during his allocated shift from 12am to 4am. However, between 2.30am and 3.30am, he could not be contacted through the radio wireless handset. Suspecting that the battery of his wireless handless is down, a security person was sent to the watchtower, where he was found lying dead in the middle of a pool of blood,” an official attached to the Harbour Police Station in Kochi said. The Indian Navy has formed a board of inquiry to find the exact reason behind the death. As per sources, Attri joined Indian Navy in the year 2019-20.
“He was on leave and returned to Kochi in April this year. It is suspected to be a case of suicide, but we are also looking into accidental death after triggering the rifle during duty. It is clear that the gunshot was made from close range. One of his relatives is in Kochi. Their statement will be recorded,” sources said.
A case of unnatural death has been registered and the police are inspecting the phone of the deceased. Postmortem was conducted at the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, and his body will be flown to his native place in UP via a civil aircraft on Wednesday after completing the procedures.
Similar incidents of alleged suicide by Navy personnel have been reported from the Kochi Naval Base over the past several years. In most cases, personal issues and work-related stress were the reasons.
A young Navy officer had shot himself dead at the Kochi base around four years ago in 2017. As per the data presented at the Parliament, a total of 787 armed forces personnel died by suicide since 2014.
According to the details furnished, the Army reported 591 cases of suicide, the Navy 36, and the Indian Air Force 160 between 2014 and 2021. The Indian Navy has established mental health centres in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Port Blair, Goa, and Karwar, where family counsellors provide psychological counselling to overcome stress.