Bhatinda Army station shooting: 'Masked' men used axe, INSAS rifle in attack
1 min read 12 Apr 2023, 07:47 PM ISTThe firing incident in Bathinda army station was reported during the early hours of Wednesday and four jawans are killed in the incident
PremiumThe Indian Army officially lodged an FIR in the firing incident at Bathinda army station during the early hours of Wednesday. The FIR said that two unidentified 'masked' men wearing kurta-pajama were spotted around the army station at the time of the incident. The faces of the suspects were covered and while one carried an INSAS rifle, another carried an axe.
Meanwhile, a search team of the Army has located the INSAS rifle along with the magazine suspected to be used in the firing incident. The joint teams of the Army and Punjab Police will now conduct a forensic analysis of the weapon for ascertaining further details.
The statement from the Indian Army added that the balance number of rounds in the weapon will only be available after forensic analysis.
The firing incident in Bathinda military station was reported during the early hours of Wednesday and four jawans are killed in the incident. The recovered INSAS rifle went missing two days ago with ammunition and is suspected to be used in the incident.
The Punjab Police has ruled out the terror angle in the case and currently, described the incident as 'fratricide.' The deceased jawans are identified as Gunners Sagar Banne (25), Kamalesh R (24), Yogeshkumar J (24), and Santosh M Nagaral (25). The Indian Army said that their families are informed.
A joint team of the Indian Army and Punjab police are probing the incident and earlier, the police team recovered 19 of the 28 bullets of the INSAS rifle in question.
Ajay Gandhi, a senior police official involved in the investigation also informed that two suspects in civilian clothes are identified and a manhunt has been launched to nab them. However, an official from the Defence Ministry told the news agency Reuters that only one shooter was involved.
Currently, there is no information about the motive of the incident and during the initial burst of firing, no exchange of gunfire was reported.
