Indian soldier dies of gunshot wound at same base where 4 others killed

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A soldier died of a gunshot wound at a military base in India’s northern border state of Punjab, but it was not related to the killing of four soldiers there hours earlier, the Indian army said on Thursday.

The soldier at Bathinda Military Station on Wednesday evening was thought to have shot himself, a statement from the army said.

“There is no connection whatsoever” to the killing of four soldiers by unknown attackers 12 hours earlier, it added.

“The soldier was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier,” the statement said.

The soldier, who had returned from leave on April 11, was rushed to a military hospital, where he died of his injuries, it added.

Earlier on Wednesday, four soldiers were shot to death in their sleep in the barracks by two people, one of them thought to be using a rifle that was reported missing from the base two days earlier.

The rifle was located later on Wednesday but the attackers had not been caught, the army said.

State police said it was “not a terror attack”.

(Reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Editing by YP Rajesh and Gerry Doyle)