Soldier dies of gunshot wound in Bhatinda: No link to firing that killed 4

A soldier has died of a gunshot wound in Punjab's Bhatinda. The incident is however not linked to the shooting that took place on Wednesday, in which 4 Army. Jawans were killed.

Reports say that this was an untoward incident and the jawan identified as Laghu Raj Shankar had accidentally shot himself. He was stationed on duty when he accidentally fired gunshots at himself from his rifle.

He succumbed to injuries shortly after and died on the spot. The incident took place on Wednesday night.

"The soldier was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier. The gunshot wound was near the right temporal region. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital, but succumbed to injuries," the Army said in a press release.

"The soldier had returned from leave on 11 April 2023. The case purportedly seems to be of attempted suicide," the Army said.

The incident comes in the backdrop of the Punjab Police registering a case against two unidentified men in connection with the Bhatinda Military Camp firing in which four jawans were killed.

"Death of another soldier at Bathinda military station on Wednesday afternoon has no connection with the earlier firing incident," the Army statement also read.

According to the FIR, the two men were wearing white kurta-pyjamas and were carrying an INSAS rifle and a sharp edged weapon. The rifle and 28 rounds of ammunition had gone missing two days back. The rifle has been recovered by the agencies.