CHANDIGARH: Four people were killed in a firing incident at Bathinda military station in Punjab on Wednesday morning. The Indian Army's 10 Corps is stationed at Bathinda. The deceased jawans were identified as Sagar Banne (25), Kamalesh R (24), Yogesh Kumar J (24), and Santosh M Nagaral (25).
Confirming the incident in a statement, the Southwestern command headquartered at Jaipur said, "The firing incident was reported in the early hours of the morning around 0435 hrs inside the Bathinda Military Station."
The four personnel, in their mid 20s, were sleeping when the firing took place around 4:30 am near the barracks behind a mess.
Another statement issued by the command reads thus: "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 area is now cordoned off and sealed. Search operations are in progress, the Army stated. Quick Reaction Teams too were activated.
"The area continues to be sealed-off and joint investigations with the Punjab Police are being coordinated to establish the facts of the case,’’ the statement said.
Bathinda Superintendent of Police (Detective) Ajay Gandhi, who headed the police investigation, told media that 19 empty shells of the INSAS rifle were found on the spot. Quoting an Army jawan, Gandhi said two people in civilian clothes opened fire.
The police officer, however, said they still have no information on who opened fire, and added the matter is under investigation. "Our investigation is going on jointly with military police," Gandhi said.
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Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police (Bathinda Range) SPS Parmar said that it seems to be a case of fratricide and that police officers are in touch with military authorities. "It is not a terror attack. It is not an attack from outside," he said.
Sources said that the firing incident happened near the officer mess of an artillery unit of the Military Station as families are also living in the area.
This military station is also home to a large number of operational Army units and other static establishments.
An INSAS rifle from the unit and some rounds of ammunition had gone missing from the unit premises two days ago. "An inquiry will be ordered in the matter to establish the facts of the case and fix responsibility," an officer said.