J&K: Soldier shoots colleague dead in Poonch, kills self later

An Indian Army jawan allegedly shot his colleague dead and later killed himself in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday morning, officials said

An Indian Army jawan allegedly shot his colleague dead and later killed himself in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday morning, officials said.

An Indian Army jawan allegedly shot his colleague dead and later killed himself after a dispute in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday morning. (Image for representational purpose)

Two more soldiers have been injured in the incident, they added.

The jawan, a naik by rank, reportedly had a scuffle with a sepoy in the Surankote area.

“Around 5.30 am, the naik opened fire from his service weapon on his colleagues over a dispute before turning it to himself inside a camp of the territorial army in Surankote,” said officials.

The soldiers injured in the shootout were rushed to the command hospital in Udhampur, where they are undergoing treatment, the officials added.

One of the officials said the dead and the injured were part of a road opening party. “Since they belonged to the territorial army, they must be from Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

A police official said that an FIR was registered and the investigations were taken up “However, the exact reason behind the firing incident has not been known yet. It appears to be a case of fratricide,” he added.

As per reports, a court of inquiry (CoI) has been ordered into the matter.

The army, however, has yet to issue a statement regarding the incident.