Gunner Desai Mohan, who was arrested by the Punjab Police on April 12 in connection with the Bathinda military station incident, has confessed to stealing an INSAS rifle and killing four of his colleagues, according to SSP Bathinda Gulneet Khurana during a joint press conference with the Indian Army on Monday.
According to the officer, preliminary investigations indicate that this was due to personal animosity.
“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.
“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.