On Thursday, the Indian army stated that a soldier who died of a gunshot wound at a military base in the northern border state of Punjab was unrelated to the earlier deaths of four soldiers there.
Wednesday evening at the Bathinda Military Station, the soldier was believed to have shot himself, according to an army statement.
“There is no connection whatsoever” to the murder of four soldiers by unknown assailants twelve hours prior, the statement continued.
“The soldier was armed with his service weapon and on sentry duty. The weapon and cartridge container was discovered next to the soldier, according to the statement.
According to the article, the soldier died at a military hospital after returning from leave on April 11.
Indian Army Base Shooting Fleeing Suspects: Police
In Bathinda, Punjab, two masked assailants killed four soldiers before morning.
Four soldiers were fatally shot in their sleep in the dormitories by two individuals. One of whom is believed to have used a rifle reported missing from the base two days prior.
The rifle was located later on Wednesday, but the assailants were still at large, according to the army.
State police said it was “not a terror attack”.
According to a police report seen by AFP today, citing an army major who claimed to have witnessed the attack, two unidentified men entered the heavily guarded outpost with their identities concealed.
One of them was carrying a rifle that had been reported missing from the base two days prior, according to the report, and the two fled into a nearby forest after the attack.
The police were examining CCTV footage and searching for the perpetrators, local media reported.
Since authorities launched a manhunt for fiery Sikh separatist preacher Amritpal Singh last month, Punjab has been on edge.
Singh has amassed a large following in recent months by demanding the establishment of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland, the fight for which in the 1980s and 1990s ignited deadly violence in Punjab.
Despite a major manhunt and a state-wide internet blackout, he remains at large.
