Firing in Indian army station kills 4 soldiers

Barricades are set up outside Bathinda Military Station, following a "firing incident" at the station that killed four people, in Bhatinda, Punjab, India, April 12, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. (Photo courtesy: ANI/Handout via REUTERS)
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Updated 12 April 2023
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Firing in Indian army station kills 4 soldiers

  • Indian media reports quoted state police officers as saying that the incident did not appear to be a terror attack
  • The shooting took place in Bhatinda as the Indian state of Punjab was on a high security alert a day ahead of Baisakhi

NEW DELHI: A firing incident inside a military station in northern India killed at least four soldiers early Wednesday, an army statement said.

The statement didn’t give details, saying only that quick reaction teams were activated, and the area cordoned off and sealed.

Indian media reports quoted state police officers as saying that the incident in the army camp in Bhatinda in Punjab state bordering Pakistan did not appear to be a terror attack.

The shooting took place as the state was on a high security alert a day ahead of Baisakhi, a major Sikh and Hindu festival marking the start of the harvesting season.

Punjab had suffered a bloody insurgency in 1980s that led to the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards at her official residence in New Delhi in 1984. It triggered deadly violence against Sikhs in northern India by her Hindu supporters.

India accuses neighboring Pakistan of supporting the insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Punjab, a charge Islamabad denies.