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Army officer shoots himself

Jammu: A Lieutenant Colonel of a Rashtriya Rifles unit on Friday committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, in yet another case of stress-related problems in the armed forces.

Lt. Col. Pankaj Jha, posted with the 15 Rashtriya Rifles in Mahore area of Udhampur, fired a shot to his temple in his room at the unit headquarters, Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, J.L. Sharma said.

Died on spot

Hearing the gunshot, other personnel rushed to the room to find Lt. Col. Jha lying in a pool of blood. He died on the spot, Mr. Sharma said.

The reason behind him taking the extreme step was not known, Mr. Sharma said adding that a case has been registered by the police and the post-mortem would be conducted later.

Confirming the suicide of the officer, 16 Corps spokesman Col. D.K. Badola said a court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

This is the fourth such incident of an Army officer committing suicide this year.

Surya Chakra recipient Capt. Sumit Kohli committed suicide by shooting himself allegedly due to depression resulting from martial discord. Maj. Shoba Rani, an Army doctor and Lt. Sushmita Chakarvarty also shot themselves.

PTI

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Army officer shoots himself

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