Army personnel shoots fellow jawan dead, shot himelf dead too

Speed Post News Network

Patna : An army Lance Naik Santosh Kumar, 35,  shot dead his colleague Rinkesh Kumar Singh, 22, at his Mangalam Colony, Danapur, Patna, residence on September 24, 2017, and then shot himself dead following a dispute over a marriage proposal. Although the incident took place in broad daylight on September 24, nobody including Santosh’s landlord heard the sound of firing from a rifle. Santosh fired two round from his rifle on Rinkesh one of which hit him in the chest. Santosh then shot himself in the mouth and died. Police have seized and rifle and empty cartridges. Rinkesh’s body was found in the bathroom and that of Santosh on the sofa.

The incident came to light on September 25 morning, when Rinkesh’s sister, who lives at Danapur, went to Manglam Colony residence of Santosh with her husband thinking her brother might be there. In fact, her mother had asked her to find out whether Rinkesh was at Santosh’s residence as he was not responding to her telephone calls from Bhopal since September 24 evening. Rinkesh’s sister had first reached Santosh’s residence at around 2 am but the landlord’s family members did not open the gate as it was past midnight and they also did not know them, Additional SP, Danapur, Rajesh Kumar. She returned in the morning on September 25.

Rinkesh was posted as clerk jawan at Danapur Military Cantonment while Santosh Kumar, who was earlier an Instructor ( Lance Naik) here, was now posted at Elong in Arunachal Pradesh and had come on vacation, according to Additional SP, Danapur, Rajesh Kumar. Santosh’s family lived at Mangalam Colony, Danapur, but they had gone to Naubatpur in Patna district for Durga Puja three-four days back, he said adding that the parents of Santosh’s wife live at Naubatpur. Rinkesh’s father, a retired armyman, is settled at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Santosh and Rinkesh were friends. The post-mortem of the two bodies were performed on September 25 afternoon.

Additional SP Rajesh Kumar said that Rinkesh’s sister had informed police that Santosh had been putting pressure on him to marry to marry one of his close relatives, a cousin. Rinkesh had rejected the proposal. This often led to heated exchange between the two.