In a shocking incident of fratricide, five Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed on Sunday as one of them opened fire indiscriminately from his service weapon at his colleagues in a fit of rage at the paramilitary camp responsible for manning the India-Pakistan check joint post near Amritsar in Punjab.
The shooter, identified as constable Satteppa SK, was among those who died in the incident.
Officials said the incident was reported at the barracks of the 114 Battalion in Khasa, some 20 km from the Attari-Wagah border.
Sateppa, hailing from Karnataka, allegedly fired at five of his colleagues before shooting himself.
One trooper, who was critically wounded, is undergoing treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar.
The deceased have been identified as Rattan Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, Baljinder Kumar of Panipat in Haryana, Toraskar DS from Maharastra and Ram Binod from Bihar, all head constables.
Preliminary investigations said Sateppa shot his colleagues as he was upset with his long duty hours and he had an argument with a senior BSF officer a day earlier.
A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
In a statement, BSF said, “In an unfortunate incident, 5 BSF troops were injured on March 6, due to fratricide committed by Ct Satteppa SK at HQ 144 Bn Khasa, Amritsar. Satteppa SK was also injured in the incident. Out of the six injured, five, including Satteppa, have lost their lives. One of the injured is critical. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the facts.”
