Four army personnel were killed in a firing incident at a military station in the Indian border state of Punjab early on Wednesday, officials said as they ruled out a “terrorist attack”. Meanwhile, the weapon suspected to have been used in the incident was also recovered.

The incident was reported around 4:35 am (1105 GMT) at the Bathinda military station in Punjab, a northern state where tensions have been high over the local resurgence of a separatist movement.

According to The Hindu, Bathinda’s Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Khuruna told journalists that initial investigations showed the shooting was a “fratricidal incident”.

“We are in touch with the army authorities and our team has reached the spot and in-depth, a probe is being done. I want to make it clear that this is not a terrorist attack. The investigation so far reveals that the incident is related to some internal issues,” the report quoted him as saying.

The report also quoted Additional Director General of Police Surinder Pal Singh Parmar as saying: “It is not a terrorist attack, it is not an attack from outside. It is a fratricidal incident.”

Missing rifle found

A statement issued by the Indian army earlier in the day said that the area had been sealed off and a joint investigation was being conducted with the Punjab police to “establish the fact of the case”.

The statement further said that “all aspects, including the possible case of involvement of an INSAS rifle along with 28 rounds reported missing two days back” were being ascertained.

Indian news agency ANI had quoted police sources as saying that an INSAS rifle with 28 cartridges had gone missing about two days ago and suspected that army personnel may be behind the incident.

But a statement issued by the Indian army later in the day stated that a “search team has located the INSAS rifle along with the magazine”.

“Army and police joint teams will now be undertaking forensic analysis of the weapon for ascertaining further details. The balance number of rounds in the weapon will only be available after forensic analysis,” the statement said.

NDTV reported that a first information report filed by “a major” said that firing was reported at 4:30am and “some unidentified masked men in kurta-pajama were seen”.

According to the report, the FIR went on to say that one of the men had an INSAS assault rifle, while another carried an axe. “They fled towards a jungle near the military station,” the report quoted the complaint as saying.

Punjab has been on the edge since last month when authorities launched a manhunt for firebrand Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh.

Singh has in recent months rallied a huge following by demanding the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s.

He remains at large after eluding despite a huge police dragnet involving thousands of police officers and a statewide internet shutdown that lasted for several days.

Recent attacks on Indian military

Following are the major attacks on Indian military bases in the last few years:

Aug 2022: Militants attacked an Indian army post in Rajouri in the disputed Kashmir region, killing three soldiers, while two attackers died in the shootout.

Feb 2019: A suicide bomber rammed a car into a bus carrying Indian paramilitary police in Pulwama, killing 44 of them in the deadliest attack in decades on security forces in the disputed region.

Nov 2016: Militants attacked an army base at Nagrota near Jammu city, killing seven security personnel and taking hostages in the military base.

Sept 2016: Four gunmen burst into a brigade headquarters in the town of Uri in the disputed Himalayan region, killing 18 Indian soldiers.

Jan 2016: Indian security forces killed six militants who launched an assault on a military air base in Pathankot in Punjab that killed seven security personnel and injured 22.

Additional input from AFP