——— In latest, Assam Rifles Jawan Shoots Six Colleagues, Dies by Suicide
——— The alarmingly high number of serving soldiers committing suicide while on duty turn hectic for Indian government
DM Monitoring
New Delhi: An Assam Rifles jawan in Manipur reportedly shot six colleagues before killing himself near the Indo-Myanmar border on Wednesday (January 24) morning.
The incident occurred soon after the jawan had returned to work after being on leave in his home in Churachandpur, The Indian Express reported. “On Wednesday morning, the personnel picked up a weapon and allegedly fired at his colleagues, injuring six. He then used the same weapon to shoot himself,” the newspaper stated.
The Wire has learnt that the jawan is from the Kuki community. Manipur has been in the grip of ethnic tensions since May 3. In a statement, the Assam Rifles have stated that this shooting incident had nothing to do with the ethnic violence.
“In light of the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur, it is important to share the details of the incident transparently to dispel any potential rumours and avoid any speculation. This unfortunate incident should not be correlated with ongoing conflict, given the fact that none of the injured are from Manipur. Investigation into the incident has been ordered to ascertain the facts,” the statement, shared by the Manipur Police on X, said.
Earlier, The Indian army is facing an alarming trend of suicide among its soldiers with 819 such incidents happened during the last five years.
Apart from the Indian army, the Indian Air Force reported 148 cases of suicide in five years, while the Indian navy reported 29 cases, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhat said in a reply to a question on the number of servicemen and ex-servicemen who committed suicide in the last five years.
Another Border Security Force (BSF) sub-inspector, who shot himself dead at a post along the India-Pakistan international border on Monday, has exposed the reasons behind the suicide trend among troops due to deployment in unfavourable conditions, low salaries, and misbehaviour of seniors.
Ramdev Singh was found lying in a pool of blood and his personal assault weapon was found by his side when a junior rank soldier reached his room around 6:35am.
He belonged to the 12th battalion and was commanding a platoon of the BSF.
The alarmingly high number of serving Indian soldiers committing suicide while on duty calls for an urgent need for structural changes in the armed forces and a greater focus on remedies for those in conflict zones.
A report by the security experts said that the realisation of fighting a futile war against a hostile public besides workplace ill-treatment and poor services are some causes of increasing suicides among the Indian military.
It said the callous attitude of seniors and denial of leave for long hauls are also cited as reasons for alarming suicidal tendencies among the Indian military personnel.
The report pointed out that the Indian military leadership had badly failed to address issues relating to suicides among its officers and soldiers.
