Bathinda shooting was fratricide: Police probe

An army jawan originally believed to be the sole witness to the killing of four personnel at a military station in Bathinda last week was arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering the soldiers to avenge protracted humiliation and harassment at their hands.

- Vishal Joshi

Soldiers from the 80 medium regiment were sleeping in their barracks near an officers' mess when four of them were shot dead in the early hours of April 12. The victims - Sagar Banne, Kamlesh R, Santosh Nagaral, and Yogeshkumar J - died of multiple gunshot injuries, igniting suspicion that it was a case of fratricide.

Hours later, gunner Desai Mohan, who was on duty at the mess at the time of the incident, told authorities he saw two unknown men in kurta-pyjama and wearing face masks coming out of the barracks after the firing. One of them was carrying an INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifle and the other an axe, he told the police, according to the first information report in the case.

But on Monday, the investigators revealed that it was all a ruse, and said it was Mohan who stole the rifle and 28 bullets to kill the four soldiers, allegedly because they were harassing him.

In a joint press conference, Bathinda senior superintendent of police Gulneet Khurana and colonel Animesh Sharan from the Bathinda military station said that Mohan confessed to killing his colleagues to avenge the "humiliation and harassment" meted out to him by them.