Army jawan killed in accidental shooting at Bhatinda military station, no link to previous incident

One Army jawan lost his life in accidental firing at Bathinda Military Station on Wednesday. The deceased, named as Laghu Raj Shankar, was on duty when he shot himself with the firearm. He died as a result of the gunshot wound. As per the report filed with police by the Army, when the alert was sounded during yesterday’s shooting, the jawan was setting up his weapon and in the process accidentally shot himself.

The event occurred in the early morning hours of Thursday. The Indian Army stated in a news statement, "The soldier was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The soldier was discovered with a firearm and ammunition casing from the same weapon. The bullet wound was located in the right temporal area. He was airlifted to the Military Hospital but died as a result of his injuries."

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"On April 11, 2023, the soldier returned from leave. The case appears to be one of attempted suicide. There is NO connection whatsoever with the incident that took place at 04:30 AM at Bathinda Military Station," it stated. The soldier is the fifth personnel to have died at the military station in the last 24 hours.

Four Army jawans were slain early Wednesday in a shooting inside a military installation in Bathinda, Punjab, sparking a manhunt for two individuals seen at the scene with their identities covered and equipped with a rifle and an axe.

The four men, all in their mid-20s, were resting in their quarters near the commanders' mess in the artillery unit when the shooting began at 4:30 a.m. According to “the information we have gathered so far, it is clear that it is not a terrorist act," a senior police officer said. 

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