In the latest incident of fratricide in the Army, a soldier killed four colleagues and seriously injured a fifth at a 42 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Panzpora Chachkote, outside Awamtipora town in southern Kashmir, early on Thursday. The accused, identified as havildar Abhay Kumar of 42 RR, has been arrested and separate investigations into
the incident have been launched by the Army and J&K police, officials said. The slain soldiers are JCO (subedar) Jaipal Singh, naik Indersen Singh, and CFNs Ram Lakhan Sharma and Panjar Solanki whereas sepoy Babu Lal was injured in the leg.
A defence spokesperson, Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, termed the incident “unfortunate” and said it was still not clear why the soldier targeted his colleagues with his service rifle. However, the police said preliminary investigations revealed the accused was to go home on leave and wanted one of the slain soldiers to return the money he had borrowed. An altercation followed and the matter was reported to JCO Jaipal Singh who called them to his office and awarded them mild punishment for indiscipline. Exasperated, Kumar opened fire at his colleagues, killing four and injuring a fifth. The soldier was now in military custody. The Army said a detailed court of inquiry has been instituted to ascertain the facts.