An Indian Army jawan, who was the only eyewitness in the Bathinda Military Station firing case, was arrested by the Punjab Police for allegedly killing four soldiers on April 12. He was taken into police custody after questioning him, the police said.
Bathinda senior superintendent of police Gulneet Singh Khurana identified the arrested soldier as Desai Mohan, and said, “The motive was personal. He had enmity with them.”
Mohan claimed that he killed the four colleagues to fight his personal harassment. The SSP refrained from speaking about the nature of harassment Mohan was allegedly facing. A few reports have claimed that Mohan was allegedly subjected to sodomy. But the exact details could be known in the police press briefing in the case.
He will be produced in a Bathinda district court for police remand for further questioning in the crime.
Four soldiers were killed in their sleep in firing inside the military station in Bathinda on April 12.
The Indian Express quoting a police official familiar with the investigation reported that on the night of the killings, the gunner checked twice to ensure that the jawans had fallen asleep. The officer said, “The jawans slept at around 2am. He checked on them at 3am and then at 4am before finally committing the crime with the rifle he had stolen a few days earlier from a nearby sentry post,” the official said.
Following the discovery of the four killings on April 12, the Indian Army initiated an extensive search operation at the Bathinda Military Station. On the same day, another jawan was found dead due to an apparent suicide, but no suspicion of foul play was reported in this incident.
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.
Desai Mohan was an eyewitness
As per the FIR, Mohan was the only eyewitness but turned accused in the murder of four jawans. Mohan was among four jawans summoned for questioning by the Bathinda Police on Sunday.
Mohan had earlier claimed that two men in kurta payama and with their faces covered were seen near the crime spot in barracks near the officers’ mess.
(With inputs from Vishal Joshi from Bathinda)
