Soldier shoots dead 2 colleagues, kills self in HP; Court of Inquiry ordered

A soldier allegedly shot dead two of his colleagues from his unit and killed himself Monday in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala Cantonment, a defense spokesperson said.

Jasbir Singh had an altercation with his two colleagues - Havildar Hardeep Singh and Naik Harpal Singh - after which he came to the barracks with his service rifle and started firing at them, police sources said.

They said the three soldiers were residents of different areas of Punjab.

Jasbir Singh was a resident of Barnala district, whereas, Hardeep Singh and Harpal Singh were residents of Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts, respectively, they said.

The incident occurred at 2.30 am, Defence Spokesperson Colonel Davinder Anand said.

He said the soldier (Jasbir Singh) was posted to the unit six months back.

The spokesperson said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

The reason for this unfortunate incident would be ascertained in the inquiry, Anand said.

To further queries, he said, "Other details are still not available."