Chandigarh: What is being termed by police as a “fratricidal firing”, four army men lost their lives on Wednesday morning around 4.30 am in the Bathinda Cantonment area. Quick Reaction Teams of the army were activated immediately. The entire cantonment area was cordoned off and sealed, a senior police officer said.

Additional Director General of Police, SPS Parmar said, “It is not a terrorist attack, it is not an attack from outside. It is a fratricidal incident.”

According to sources, the incident took place near the officers’ mess of an artillery unit based at the station.

Initial reports point out the incident to be a case of fratricide.

#WATCH | Visuals from outside Bathinda Military Station where four casualties have been reported in firing inside the station in Punjab; search operation underway pic.twitter.com/jgaaGVIdMS

— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2023

Sources said that an INSAS rifle from the unit and some rounds of ammunition had gone missing from the unit premises two days ago.

“A court of inquiry will investigate the entire matter to establish the facts of the case and fix responsibility,” an officer said.

The Bathinda Military Station was cordoned off, the army said, and further details of the incident were being awaited.

Ministry of Defence and Army Headquarters, the police and sister agencies have also been intimated about the incident.

Bathinda is an important military installation and houses the headquarters of 10 Corps, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Jaipur-based South Western Command.

The station is also home to a large number of operational Army units and other static establishments.