The gunner was an eyewitness who claimed he saw two masked people in kurta pyjamas running into a nearby forest. The police have arrested an Indian Army gunner for the April 12 murder of four jawans at the Bathinda military station. The gunner was an eyewitness who had falsely stated that he had seen two masked people in kurta pyjamas running into a nearby forest after committing the murders in the early hours of April 12. Speaking to The Indian Express, Bathinda SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana confirmed the arrest of the Army gunner. However, Khurana refused to comment on the exact reasons why the gunner killed the four jawans. “All I can say is that there are personal reasons,” he added. Sources said the investigation has revealed the gunner was being sexually assaulted by the four jawans due to which he took the extreme step. A police officer familiar with the questioning of the gunner carried out by the police said on the night of the killings, the gunner checked twice to see if the jawans had gone to sleep. “The jawans slept at around 2 am. He checked on them at 3 am and then at 4 am before finally committing the crime with the rifle he had stolen a few days earlier from a nearby sentry post,” the official said. The Army had launched a massive manhunt at the Bathinda Military Station after the four killings came to light on April 12. Another jawan had died due to apparent suicide on the evening of April 12 but no foul play was suspected in this death. Police officials said the gunner will be produced before a court in Bathinda later in the day.
