Fratricide on Indo-Pak border; two BSF jawans killed

Fratricide on Indo-Pak border; two BSF jawans killed

In a suspected case of fratricide, two BSF jawans deployed along the sensitive Indo-Pakistan border in Rajasthan today killed each other in the wee hours.

The young duo, recently inducted into the border guarding force, shot each other using their service weapons and were a 'buddy pair' tasked to secure the frontier in Anupgarh's Shivni area in Sriganganagar sector of the border.

The bodies of the jawans, identified as Jitender and Badal, were recovered by BSF officials who rushed to the spot after they heard gunshots at 3 am.

The officials found the troops lying in a pool of blood in a trench near the border post.

The incident has created flutter in the paramilitary as the incident happened in the dead of the night at the border post and there was no witness to the killings.

Jitender, according to sources, pumped 12 bullets from his Light Machine Gun (LMG) into Badal, who instead got two fatal bullet shots from the INSAS rifle of his fellow trooper.

Senior officials have recovered empty cartridges from the spot and have ruled out any foul play from across the border or by any third party.

"The exact reason as to why the young boys did this is yet to be known. A Court of Inquiry is underway," a senior official said.

Both the troops, part of the 64th battalion, belonged to Uttar Pradesh and were batchmates as they joined the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2011 after passing out from their training centre in Jodhpur.

Jitender belonged to Meerut while Badal hailed from Bulandshahar, they said, adding their bodies are being sent to their respective home towns.

This is the third reported case of fratricide in the force this year.

In an similar incident in January, two BSF jawans killed each other in the Punjab sector. 

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