Chandigarh: Two unidentified persons in civil dress opened fire at army personnel sleeping in the barracks inside the Bathinda military station in Punjab, killing four armymen, Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Ajay Gandhi, said on Wednesday, adding that 19 empty shells of an INSAS rifle were recovered from the spot.
The firing took place at about 4.35 a.m. on Wednesday at the military base — the largest in Asia — located some 100 km from the Pakistan border.
Gandhi said the police and the Indian Army are jointly probing the incident and the “inquiry is still underway”.
Gandhi, who is heading the police team probing the incident, refused to comment on the use of weapon or weapons in the crime.
“This matter is still under investigationm,” he said.
The officer said 19 empty shells of an INSAS rifle were recovered from the spot, adding that the deceased were asleep when the assailants opened fire inside the military barrack.
He also refused to comment on reports that an INSAS rifle and ammunition that went missing two days back could have been used in the incident.
Earlier on Wednesday, the South Western Command headquarters had said in a statement that 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 continues to be sealed and a joint investigation with Punjab Police is being coordinated to establish the facts of the case,” the statement said.
It added that all aspects, including the possible use of an INSAS rifle and 28 rounds of ammunition that went missing two days back, are being probed.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Bathinda), Gulneet Singh Khurana, told the media that “it was not a terror attack and seemed to be some internal development in the military station”.
The Bathinda cantonment, which houses one of the biggest ammunition depots in the country, is located along National Highway-7 on the Chandigarh-Fazilka stretch that further leads to Rajasthan.
(IANS)
