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Amritsar fratricide: Two BSF men were to retire in two days
Another victim belonging to Amritsar had sought a 15-day leave a day before the fratricide incident, but it could not get sanctioned due to the unavailability of the BSF officer concerned
Two of the four Border Security Force (BSF) men who died in an incident of fratricidal firing in Amritsar on Sunday were to retire within two days while another had sought a 15-day leave a day before that could not get sanctioned, reportedly, due to the unavailability of the officer concerned.
The four men — head constables Ram Binodh (Bihar), Toraskar DS (Maharashtra) and Baljinder Kumar (Haryana, now living in Amritsar), and constable Rattan Chand (J&K) — were gunned down as constable Satteppa S Kilaragi, ran amok with his service weapon before falling to a ricochet bullet at Khasa headquarters in Amritsar on Sunday. Another BSF jawan, constable Nihal Singh, was grievously injured in the incident and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Kilaragi, 35, a father of three, belonged to Karnataka and was suffering from depression, according to deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Attari) Balbir Singh, who is investigating the case. The preliminary postmortem report has confirmed that he died of his own bullet, a part of which was recovered from his body, he said.
Bodies dispatched after autopsy
“The retirement of two of the victims — Ram Binodh and Rattan Chand — was due in two days. Ram Binodh’s son had even come from Bihar to attend his father’s farewell. Ram also wanted to take his son to the Wagah border to witness the beating retreat. At the time of the incident, Ram’s son was also present with him, but had a narrow escape,” said DSP Balbir Singh.
Another victim, Baljinder Kumar, had applied for a 15-day leave, to spend time with his family, a day before the incident. “My father had applied for a leave from Saturday, but it could not be sanctioned due to the unavailability of the officer concerned,” said Baljinder’s son Karan Kumar. Baljinder, who had been deployed at the Khasa headquarters for the past six months, was cremated in Amritsar on Monday.
Police said they dispatched mortal remains of all the deceased on Sunday midnight. “Three of the bodies, including Kilaragi’s, were dispatched by air while two bodies were sent by road to their native areas, after conducting their postmortem,” said the DSP.
Anti-depression pills recovered
“We are yet to establish contact with Kilaragi’s family, but we have come to know that he had three children, and had been in depression. We have also recovered around 40-50 anti-depression and sleeping pills from his room situated on the first floor of the barrack,” said the senior police official.
According to him, Kilaragi had returned to his duty on January 1 after a 56-day long leave, and again went on leave from January 15 to February 3. “Around five days ago, he was shifted from the Ratangarh Khurd village situated on the India-Pakistan border to the headquarters. On Sunday morning, around 8:30, he appeared fine and washed his cloths. However, around 9:40 am, he took his Insas rifle from the armoury and started firing. He had three magazines, each filled with 20 bullets. One of the magazines got exhausted while two magazines were recovered,” said the DSP.
While the BSF constable was firing indiscriminately at his unarmed colleagues of the 144 Batallion, one of the bullets ricocheted and pierced his stomach, he said. “Our investigation so far has found that Kilaragi could have had some family issues, and he had made no complaint against his colleagues or seniors,” he said.
