An army officer on Thursday allegedly opened fire and lobbed a grenade at his comrades and subordinates, injuring five personnel, inside a camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, PTI reported.
The officer, said to be of the rank of major, opened fire during a shooting practice session at the Neeli post near Thanamandi and then took shelter in the unit’s armoury. He was overpowered after nearly eight hours. Those injured included three officers.
The unit’s second-in-command is in critical condition after the grenade hurled by the major exploded near him, PTI reported.
The Public Relations Officer (Defence) in Jammu Lieutenant Colonel Suneel Bartwal clarified that this was not a terrorist attack. “I would like to inform you that no terrorist attack has occurred, it is an unfortunate internal incident of the camp,” he said.
While the army has not revealed much information about the attack, the Hindustan Times reported quoting unidentified officials that the accused officer was dealing with personal issues.
This incident came five months after four soldiers were killed in a fratricide attack at the Bathinda Military Station in Punjab.
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