Another soldier dead at Bathinda military station; no link to earlier firing incident: Army

In another incident at the Bathinda military station in Punjab, a soldier is reported to have died of a gunshot wound on Wednesday evening (April 12).

A statement released by the Army to the media, said “the case purportedly seems to be of attempted suicide” and had “NO connection whatsoever with the incident that took place at 04:30 AM at Bathinda Military Station”.

On Wednesday morning at 4.30 am, four soldiers from the artillery unit were killed in a firing incident inside the same military station. The soldiers were reportedly sleeping when the incident happened.

Responding to the latest incident, the Army said the soldier was found with a gunshot injury to his right temporal region. He was rushed to the Military Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

“A soldier died of a gunshot wound at approximately 4:30 PM on 12 April 2023 at Bathinda Military Station. The soldier was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier. The gunshot wound was near the right temporal region. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries. The soldier had returned from leave on 11 April 2023. The case purportedly seems to be of attempted suicide. There is NO connection whatsoever with the incident that took place at 04:30 AM at Bathinda Military Station,” the statement released to the media said.

Also read: Punjab: 4 dead in firing at Bathinda Military Station; ‘fratricidal incident,’ say police

The five soldiers who have died, in the two separate incidents, all seem to have been in their 20s.

A senior police official said that an investigation officer was reaching the military station to begin a probe into the case of “accidental firing”.

(With inputs from agencies)