Army soldier dies in ‘accidental fire’ in J&K’s Poonch

Eswaran was rushed to a sub-district hospital at Mendhar but was declared brought dead by the doctors

Indian Army soldier Eswaran R, 27, of Gudalur village of Tamil Nadu died in an “accidental discharge of fire from his own weapon” in the Mankote sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district on Tuesday, army officials said.

His body was handed over to the army after post-mortem (PTI Photo)

“The soldier was presently posted with 37 Rashtriya Rifles (RR). He received a serious bullet wound after his service rifle went off accidentally,” said a police officer.

Eswaran was rushed to a sub-district hospital at Mendhar but was declared brought dead by the doctors.

His body was handed over to the army after post-mortem.

While police have initiated inquest proceedings under section 174 of the CR PC, the army has also instituted a court of inquiry.