Army officer shot dead by rifleman in Chennai over punishment for 'lethargic attitude'

A rifleman killed an Army officer for allegedly being punished for his lethargic attitude towards his duty. Later, the rifleman committed suicide by shooting himself.

Chennai: In an incident of fratricide, an Army officer was shot dead on Tuesday at Pallavaram barrack by a rifleman, who later killed himself for allegedly being punished for "lethargic attitude towards duty", police said.

A senior official said the incident took place at around 3 AM on Tuesday. The rifleman, Jagseer Singh, committed suicide by shooting himself, he said.

"We suspect that the rifleman was emotionally worked up after the Havildar punished him for his lethargic attitude in duty," the officer said.

The deceased, Praveen Kumar Joshi, was a resident of Uttarakhand. He lived with his family in Pallavaram military residency in Chennai. Jagseer Singh was working as a rifleman under Praveen Kumar Joshi.

Reportedly, they both had some argument the previous night. Following which, Praveen lost his control and verbally abused him.

The rifleman felt insulted and in a fit of rage, he went to Praveen's room and shot him with his rifle. After which he committed suicide by shooting self.

Defence sources said the matter is under investigation.