At about 4.35 am Wednesday, the heavily fortified Bathinda Military Station in Punjab woke up to the familiar sound of an INSAS rifle firing in burst mode.
Most of the soldiers in the army base would have assumed it to be some sort of training. But it wasn’t.
Four soldiers — Sagar Banne, Kamlesh R, Santosh Nagaral, and Yogeshkumar J — were riddled with bullets as they slept in their bunker behind the Officer’s mess.
And that is why the Bathinda Military Station, one of the largest army bases in India, is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
Culprits at large, mysteries abound
It is said that the eyewitness saw two masked individuals wearing a white kurta-pyjama running away. One held an INSAS rifle while the other carried an axe.
Immediately, the whole campus came to life as information was relayed. Within minutes, the quick reaction team was supposed to have swung into action.
However, the problem is that over 72 hours later, the Army and the Punjab Police are yet to catch the culprits.
What added to the mystery was that on Thursday evening, another soldier reportedly died by suicide, which the Army insisted was not related to the shooting incident.
And then on Monday, an INSAS rifle along with a loaded magazine went missing from the armoury.
The fear is that this was a planned action and not a spur of the moment act.
But the biggest concern is that this is suspected to be a case of fratricide as was reported by ThePrint from the beginning, much before the Punjab Police came on record to say this was not a terrorist attack but an internal matter of the Army.
The Army, in its statement, had said that the two suspects ran into the forest area from where they recovered the abandoned INSAS rifle with a used magazine in it.
A total of 19 rounds were fired by the rifle, which has been sent for forensic analysis. A joint team of the Army’s military intelligence and the Punjab Police is investigating the matter.
What is intriguing is that when a head count was done, all soldiers were accounted for.
This means that if this was indeed a case of fratricide, then the two soldiers managed to get back into the lines after killing four soldiers in cold blood.
Also read: 4 soldiers killed with INSAS rifle and axe at Bathinda Military Station, fratricide suspected
Army, Punjab Police not in total agreement
The Punjab Police does not seem to be buying the Army’s version of events.
As per the FIR filed by Major Ashutosh Shukla from 80 Medium Regiment, gunner Demai Mohan claimed to have spotted two masked men in kurta-pyjama after the killing.
It was Mohan who informed Major Shukla after he heard the gunshots.
Mohan, who seems to be the only eyewitness, told his senior officer that one of the unknown assailants was carrying an INSAS rifle, while the other had an axe.
However, according to the Punjab Police, the post-mortem has revealed that none of the four soldiers killed had any axe injuries and were all shot dead by the INSAS rifle.
They are questioning the lone witness because no one else in the campus had seen the two suspects.
Moreover, Army sources say the case seems to be one of targeted killings in which the suspect or suspects specifically attacked the four.
In a matter of 24 hours, five soldiers lost their lives in the military camp including one case of suspected suicide, but the suspects continue to remain at large.
The Bathinda Military Station is home to the 10 Corps of the Indian Army, also known as the Chetak Corps, which is focussed on the western front.
Considered one of the oldest and largest military stations in the country, it is an important logistics base for the Indian Army.
It is spread over nearly 55 sq km and is adjacent to the national highway.
(Edited by Prashant)