Four soldiers have been killed in a shooting incident at a military base in the Indian border state of Punjab.
The army in a statement said the four soldiers succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the shooting, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, adding that a search operation for the shooters was ongoing.
The incident according to reports took place at 4:35 a.m. Tuesday, an earlier army statement said.
According to S.P.S. Parmar, a top police official in Punjab, the incident was “not a terror attack” and occurred at a canteen.
An unknown number of shooters were at large at the base in Bathinda city, a defence source said, declining to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter.
The base was sealed off and a joint investigation with the local police was on, the army statement said, adding that no other injuries and damage to property was reported.
“All aspects including the possible case of involvement of an (assault) rifle along with 28 rounds reported missing two days back are being ascertained,” the army said.
The military base, about 280 km (175 miles) northwest of New Delhi, houses mostly families of soldiers.
The border with Pakistan is about 100 km (62 miles) west of Bathinda.
