Gunner Desai Mohan stole INSAS rifle, used it to kill 4 jawans at Bathinda military station: Army

Gunner Desai Mohan, who was arrested by the Punjab Police in connection with the Bathinda military station incident on April 12, has confessed to his involvement in stealing an INSAS rifle and killing four of his colleagues, senior superintendent of police, Bathinda, Gulneet Khurana said at a joint press conference with the Indian Army on Monday.

Initial investigations indicate that this was due to personal enmity, the officer said.

“After sustained interrogation, we found that one weapon has been stolen and that was used to kill the jawans. Later, one individual from the artillery unit was detained and during interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in stealing an INSAS rifle and killing four of his colleagues to the police,” Khurana said.

In a separate statement, the Jaipur-based South Western Command of the Indian Army said Mohan confessed to the police that on April 9 morning, he stole the weapon along with a filled magazine and then hid the rifle.

“On 12 April 2023 at around 0430 hours, while he was on sentry duty, he recovered the weapon from its hiding place, moved to the first floor, and killed all four personnel while they were asleep. The individual then proceeded to throw the weapon into the sewage pit. The weapon and additional ammunition have been recovered from the sewage pit,” the army said in the statement.

Mohan is currently in police custody and further details are being ascertained, it said, adding that there was no terror angle as speculated earlier in some media reports.

“Indian Army practices zero tolerance to such acts of indiscipline and is committed to ensure that the guilty will get punished as per law,” the statement said.

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.

It was Desai Mohan who had said that he saw two unidentified men in white kurta-pyjama, their faces and heads covered with cloth, coming out of the barracks after the firing.

One of them was carrying an INSAS rifle and the other an axe, the jawan had said in the police FIR.

The police said Mohan stole one INSAS rifle, 20 cartridges of INSAS and eight bullets of LMG. The police have recovered six bullets of the LMG from a pit in the compound. They are still searching for two bullets of the LMG.

The joint team said too early to confirm the nature of harassment the accused was facing at the hands of the deceased.

The Bathinda military station is one of the largest Army bases in the country and comprises a significant number of operational units of the force.