Days after four Indian Army soldiers were killed in their sleep at Punjab’s Bathinda Military Station, a gunner was arrested Monday in connection with the firing incident. The Army gunner was an eyewitness who had falsely stated that he had seen two masked people in kurta pajamas running into a nearby forest after committing the murders in the early hours of April 12.
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The Army said in a statement, After sustained interrogation, one Jawan named Gunner Desai Mohan from the Artillery unit, where the incident occurred has confessed to his involvement in stealing an INSAS rifle & killing four of his colleagues. Initial investigations indicate that this was apparently due to personal reasons/animosity.
The individual is currently in Police custody and further details are being ascertained. It is reiterated that there is no terror angle as speculated earlier.
As per the statement, the gunner has confessed to the police he stole the weapon along with a filled magazine easy on April 9 and hid them. “On 12 April 2023 at around 0430 hours, while he was on sentry duty, he recovered the weapon from its hiding place, moved to the first floor, and killed all four personnel while they were asleep.”
After killing his colleagues, he threw the weapon into the sewage pit. The army said, “The weapon and additional ammunition have been recovered from the sewage pit.”
