Trooper commits suicide in Srinagar
Srinagar: A CRPF jawan allegedly committed suicide on Saturday by shooting himself with his service rifle inside a camp here, police said. This is the third suicide by a trooper in Kashmir Valley during the last three days.
Constable Prukha Sukhdev of the 79 Battalion, posted in the Sonwar area of the city, shot himself with his service rifle inside the camp Saturday morning, a police official said, adding that the jawan died on the spot.
The reason behind Sukhdev taking the extreme step was not known immediately, the official said, adding that a case was registered in connection with the incident.
Pertinently, two Indian army soldiers committed suicide in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, triggering a debate on the mental health issues among the soldiers in conflict-ridden areas.
“Birender Sinha (24) of 30RR shot himself dead with his service rifle at around 06.45 hours on Wednesday. He was on duty at HQ Langate. According to the official sources, the bullet had pierced his head and he died on the spot.
On Thursday another soldier shot himself with his service rifle in Handwara, few kilometres away from the earlier place.
31-year-old Sepoy Shankar Singh, a resident of Prithvpura Rajasthan, was serving in 18RR e-coy at Warnow area of Kupwara when he shot himself with his service rifle and he was found dead by his colleagues when they rushed to the spot after hearing the gunshots.
According to the central government report presented in the Rajya Sabha last year, 310 army personnel have committed suicide since 2014.
Nine officers and 19 junior commissioned officers were among those who committed suicide between 2014 and July 31, 2017, minister of state for Defence Subhash Bhamre had stated while replying to a query on incidents of suicide and fratricide in the Army in Rajya Sabha last year.
On January 9 this year, Air Force personnel Kachin Kumar, 30, was found hanging in Udhampur district of Jammu. Earlier, on December 14, 2017, LN Parvesh Kumar Mishra shot himself dead in RS Pura area of Jammu.
According to the experts, most of the suicide cases in the forces are due to stress, having complications with the bosses, denial of leave on occasions like festivals and family get together. Though paramilitary forces like the CRPF have introduced the ‘Sainik Samelan’ to help the troopers to overcome stress, however, the ‘Samleans’ have proven to be least effective for them to cope up with the stress.
A mid-level officer presently on duty in Srinagar said that the Superiors’ rude behaviour with his subordinates is the main cause of the stress among the soldiers.
KV Correspondent
