Srinagar: A soldier fatally shot dead five of his colleagues and injured another before turning the gun on himself following a heated argument at an army garrison in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, officials said yesterday.
A police officer said that an angry soldier of the counter-insurgency 13 Rashtriya Rifles went berserk inside the Safapora (Manasbal) camp in the district, 35km from here, following a heated exchange of words with his colleagues.
“He resorted to indiscriminate firing, resulting in the death of five Rashtriya Rifles soldiers. After the firing, the irate soldier shot and killed himself,” the police officer said.
Lt. Colonel NN Joshi, public relations officer at the Indian Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps, said a court of inquiry had been ordered.
He said the incident took place around 2 am.
“In a tragic incident, one soldier of 13 Rashtriya Rifles, located in Manasbal Garrison of Ganderbal district, fired and caused fatal injuries to five of his fellow soldiers with his service rifle before killing himself,” Lt. Colonel Joshi said.
The soldier who opened fire was on sentry duty.
The injured soldier was taken to an army hospital for treatment and his condition was stable, he said. “Police have been informed of the incident and a report was lodged. The army has ordered a high-level inquiry to investigate into the circumstances under which the incident occurred.”
Several similar incidents have occurred in the past in the region. A defence expert said such soldiers, already working in a tense and hostile environment, are sometimes also badly managed by their superiors. They can be denied leave for long periods, increasing resentment and piling on the pressure, Ajay Sahni, who heads the Institute of Conflict Management in Delhi, said.
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