Army Soldier Shoots Self With Service Rifle In South Kashmir’s Kulgam

Srinagar: An army soldier shot himself dead with his service rifle in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district last night, officials said today.

An official said that Abishekh Roy Kumar who worked as a wireless operator shot himself at 34 RR camp in Behibagh area of Kulgam last night.

“He died on the spot,” said the official, adding it was not immediately known what forced the soldier to take the extreme step.

The incident took place a week after the Rajya Sabha was told the suicides committed by defence personnel were highest in the Army among the three services in the last three years.

In 2018, a total of 80 army personnel committed suicide. The total number of suicides in the Air Force was 16 while in the Navy was 8, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply last week.

In 2017, the number of army men, who are suspected to have committed suicide, was 75 while in 2016, this number was 104.