A 23-year-old naval sailor from Gujarat died of bullet injury at the Naval Base, Kochi, on Sunday.
Rakshit Kumar Parmar, a sailor with Electrical Mechanician (Power) II, suffered serious injury due to a gun shot fired from his duty weapon while performing the duty of security sentry on board INS Jamuna, a ship under the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi. The incident occurred at about 7.30 a.m.
He was rushed to the naval hospital INHS Sanjivani but was declared dead at 9.40 a.m. A case of unnatural death has been registered and the SNC has ordered a board of inquiry into the incident.
The sailor, a native of Kheda district of Gujarat, is survived by his parents and a brother. The family has been informed of his death.
The Harbour Police, which has registered a case of unnatural death, said a separate probe would be held into the episode. The inquest proceedings were completed and the body was shifted to the Kalamassery Medical College.
Preliminary inquiry suggested that it was a case of suicide. ‘‘The bullet, which was fired from the sailor's official gun, appear to have entered the body from under the chin and exited through his skull,’’ they said.