In a case of fratricide, an officer of the rank of Major was shot dead by a jawan in the 8 Rashtriya Rifles unit posted in Uri near the Line of Control (LoC).
On Monday night around 9:45 p.m., Naik Karthiresan of 19 Madras was using his mobile phone while on guard duty for which he was pulled up Major Shikhar Thapa. The Major warned him of further disciplinary action. “He didn’t like being reprimanded and as Maj. Thapa turned around, Naik Karthiresan shot him in the back with his Ak-47 rifle,” a senior Army officer said on Tuesday. The jawan was overpowered by other jawans and disarmed.
Mobile phones cannot be used while on guard duty in forward areas as the light on the phone illuminates the face and gives away the location, the officer explained. Maj. Thapa hails from Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. He is survived by his wife and son.
(With inputs from PTI)