Fragging dogs army

Assam Rifles captain, subedar gunned down by havildar

IMPHAL: In yet another instance of fragging (the army term for soldiers killing their colleagues), an Assam Rifles captain and subedar were gunned down in Manipur on Friday by a havildar who later turned his service weapon on himself.

The incident occurred at 9 am at Nun Tamkuki when Havildar Avdesh Singh shot dead Captain S J R Chowdhury and Subedar Ranjit Mamon following a dispute, army sources said. Sharma, who then shot himself, was in a critical condition, the sources said. Details about the dispute that triggered the attack were not immediately available.

Officials in Delhi said Chowdhury belonged to Andhra Pradesh while Mamon was a resident of Dimapur in Nagaland. Sharma hailed from Bihar.

The incident came soon after seven fratricidal killings in the past 30 days prompted army chief Gen J J Singh to instruct his top commanders to probe such incidents and frame corrective measures. “We are concerned over the rising number of such incidents specially in counter-insurgency areas and suitable measures are being institutionalised,” Singh had said.

Army officials said measures like counselling were being institutionalised in all training institutions, and rest and recuperation centres were being set up to help reduce stress levels among troops.