Lt Colonel shoots self with service weapon in Srinagar

Srinagar:An Army officer died by shooting himself with his service weapon in the outskirts of summer capital, Srinagar, official sources said on Wednesday.

They said panic gripped in an Army camp at Khohmoh in the city outskirts after firing shots were heard. However, other army personnel in the camp immediately rushed to the area from where the gunshot was heard. They later found an officer Sudeep Baghat Singh in a pool of blood, sources said adding he was immediately rushed to hospital where he was declared brought dead.

It was not immediately clear why he took this extreme step, they said adding police has registered a case and initiate proceedings.

The trend of taking extreme step among security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operation has not stopped even after the authorities introduced Yoga and Art of Living to help them (security forces) to come out from the stress.

According to information received from the police, Lieutenant Colonel Sudeep was working in Khonmoh on the outskirts of Srinagar. Officers and military personnel stationed at the camp said that chaos was created after hearing the sound of a sudden firing in the camp. Initially, it seemed that Terrorists had sneaked into the camp, but when no suspicious activity was seen in the vicinity, the soldiers moved further from where the sound of the bullet came from.

The soldiers said that when he reached the spot, they were surprised to see that Lieutenant Colonel Sudeep Bhagat Singh was lying on the ground covered with blood. His service rifle was lying with him. Which indicates he had shot himself. The soldiers immediately took the lieutenant colonel to the nearby hospital. He has declared brought dead after being examined by doctors.(UNI)