Fratricide in Jammu and Kashmir: Two army men killed, two hurt

SRINAGAR:  Two Army men were killed and two others injured in a fratricide incident in an Army camp at Surankote in the border district of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. An army official said an altercation took place between some soldiers stationed at 156 Territorial Army camp around 5.30 am, and in a fit of anger, one of the soldiers fired on three of his colleagues. The soldier later shot himself dead using his own service rifle.

The injured Army men were referred to the military hospital, where one of the critically injured soldier succumbed to injuries. The other two injured soldiers are undergoing treatment. The deceased soldiers were identified as Naik Imtiyaz Ahmed and sepoy Abrar Ahmed, while those injured are Makan Singh and Naik Khalil Ahmed.

Immediately after the incident, top Army and police officials rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Defence sources said Naik Imtiyaz fired on the jawans and then shot himself to death.
The Army has ordered a probe into the incident to ascertain the facts and the reason behind the jawan’s action. Earlier, in January this year, two soldiers died in a suspected fratricide incident near the Line of Control in the border district of Rajouri.

There have been several fratricide incidents in the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir in the last two decades during which many security personnel have lost their lives. Experts blame stressful work, poor service conditions, inadequacy of leave, and communication gap between jawans and senior officers for these incidents, and security forces have taken many measures to prevent them from taking place.