A soldier deputed at Punjab's Bathinda military station died of gunshot injuries on Wednesday evening, in what the Indian Army has desribed as a suspected suicide.
The soldier passed away just hours after four other Army personnel were killed at the same station in a shooting incident early Wednesday morning. According to the Army, 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," adding that he had returned from leave on 11 April.
The statement also sought to emphasize that there was "no connection whatsoever with the incident that took place at 04:30 AM at Bathinda Military Station."
Meanwhile, the four soldiers, who died on Wednesday morning, were asleep when they were killed. Punjab Police and the Indian Army are jointly investigating the killings.
According to reports, the murder weapon is said to be an INSAS assault rifle that went missing from the premises on Sunday.
The army also stated that the rifle and the bullet magazine had been confiscated and would be sent to the forensic lab.
On the other hand, the First Information Report (FIR) registered by an Army Major mentions two masked men as suspects in the case.
As per the complaint, one of them was holding the gun suspected to be used in the crime, before the two fled into the nearby jungle.