Bathinda Military Station killings: 3 days on, no clue of attackers yet

BATHINDA : Three days after four soldiers were killed at the high-security Bathinda Military Station, the authorities are yet to nab the attackers.

Two unidentified people were booked for murder on Wednesday. According to the FIR, an INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifle and a magazine with 28 cartridges that went missing from an army unit were used by the suspects in the attack. The rifle was found later in the day. However, the authorities are yet to find an axe which one of the attackers was carrying.

Questions are being raised on why the strategically crucial establishment was being manned by unarmed guards. Officials keeping a close watch on the probe said it was also important to investigate why there was no armed security personnel even as a Lance Naik lost his INSAS rifle and a magazine.

They said the attack could have been avoided or the armed guards would have reacted to a violent act that caused the deaths of four soldiers.

In the FIR, Major Ashutosh Shukla of the 80 Middle Regiment had stated that security personnel around the crime spot were ordered to remain unarmed. This is why no army personnel fired in retaliation even after hearing gunshots and spotting two unidentified assailants in kurta-pyjama with their faces covered coming out of the barracks after the firing.

“It is for the army authorities to clarify under which circumstances the weapon and magazine went missing and why guards remained unarmed thereafter. The strategically important compound was not put on extra alert. It is evident from the police statement given by the army official that unarmed guards were stationed around the crime spot,” said an official.

There has been no official communication from the army authorities on the killings since Wednesday evening.

Investigators are baffled by no recovery of an axe that was allegedly spotted near the crime scene. Police officials said it is important to recover the axe to connect the dots as the army authorities in their complaint have stated that one of the unidentified assailants was carrying it.

Police and army authorities have confirmed the recovery of an INSAS rifle and a magazine with 28 cartridges hours from the military station after the jawans were shot dead in their sleep at the barracks near an officers’ mess on Wednesday morning.

Bathinda superintendent of police (investigation) Ajay Gandhi, who is heading the probe, said on Friday that the axe allegedly involved in the crime has still not been found yet.

“There is no trace of the said weapon seen by the eyewitness. To date, no person has been detained or arrested as a joint probe by district police and army authorities is underway,” said Gandhi.

HT first reported that the autopsy of the four soldiers at Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital in Bathinda did not indicate the use of any injury caused by a sharp-edged weapon.

“Contrary to the content of the FIR, there is no material evidence on the use of an axe. Since it was seen by the sole eyewitness on the prohibited campus, it is important to find the axe for scientific evidence to reach the culprits.

Schools remain shut

Eleven schools are shut indefinitely since the killings took place at the Bathinda Military Station on Wednesday morning.

There are three Kendriya Vidyalayas having about 1,000 students each while an Army Public School has an enrolment of nearly 3,000 students.

The Military Station has seven playway schools having an estimated enrolment of 600 each.

The evaluation work of CBSE Class 10 and 12 going on at these schools has also been suspended indefinitely.

“Since all non-military activities have been suspended on the campus and movement of outsiders is strictly prohibited, educational work has come to a halt. CBSE officials are trying to shift the evaluation material to some other place after getting permission to ensure timely completion of evaluation of answer sheets,” said an official familiar with the development.