Bathinda: An Army jawan has been arrested in connection with the killing of four soldiers at the Bathinda Military Station.
According to Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana, the jawan was identified as Desai Mohan and was arrested on Monday. "The motive was personal. He had enmity with them.
Notably, four soldiers were killed in their sleep in firing inside the military station in Bathinda on April 12.
According to the statement released by HQ South Western Command, the Army jawan has confessed to his involvement in stealing an INSAS rifle and killing four of his colleagues to the Police and added initial investigations indicate that this was apparently due to personal reasons/animosity.
An FIR was lodged in this connection at the Bathinda Cantonment police station under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act against two unidentified persons.
Earlier, Desai was considered an eye-witness in the case
"As per his confession, on the early morning of 09 April 2023, he stole the weapon along with a filled magazine. He then hid the weapon. On 12 April 2023 at around 0430 hours, while he was on sentry duty, he recovered the weapon from its hiding place, moved to the first floor, and killed all four personnel while they were asleep," read the statement.
"The individual then proceeded to throw the weapon into the sewage pit. The weapon and additional ammunition have been recovered from the sewage pit. The statement made by the individual while filing the initial FIR on 12 April, mentioning two persons in civil dress with INSAS rifle and an axe was an attempt to divert the attention of investigating agencies," it added.
It is worth mentioning, the Bathinda military station is one of the largest Army bases in the country and comprises a significant number of operational units of the force.
(With PTI inputs)
