Indian soldier kills four colleagues over leave row

NEW DELHI: A paramilitary soldier from one of India's elite security units shot dead four of his senior officers on Thursday in an apparent row over leave, police said.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) soldier fired indiscriminately at the officers at the barracks in Aurangabad district in eastern India’s Bihar state before trying to flee.

"Three died on the spot while one injured officer succumbed to his injuries at a hospital," Satya Prakash, Aurangabad police chief, told AFP.

"He shot 32 rounds before he was overpowered by his colleagues and is suspected to be suffering from some mental illness."

Prakash said the dispute appeared to be over leave.

All the victims were unarmed and were off-duty when the incident took place at a thermal power plant where they were stationed.

The CISF guards the country’s most vital civil and government installations including airports, atomic plants and government buildings.

India’s security forces have historically had a high incidence of suicides and killings linked to long hours, poor working conditions and inadequate time off.

An earlier video posted by Tej Bahadus Yadav of the Border Security Force (BSF) on social media went viral prompting an inquiry by the force. In the video the soldier complaints that higher officials were selling supplies meant for troops, often forcing them to go to bed on empty stomachs.

[embed_video1 url=https://stream.jeem.tv/vod/52b50b6ead3d6cc2b08c644d555d9c2f.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9MS8xMi8yMDE3IDM6NTQ6MTQgUE0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1QWTJmVnM4VWJSN2xvTnBPT0k4bFRnPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]

"Governments change, but our situation doesn't change… We only get a paratha and tea as breakfast and this is without any pickle or vegetables... we slog for 11 hours and at times we have to stand throughout the duty hours. For lunch, we get 'dal' (pulses) which only has 'haldi' (turmeric) and salt... with roti. This is the quality of the food we get... how can a jawan do his duty?” Yadav said in the video.

For exposing the dire straits, Yadav was relegated to a plumber's job, an Indian magazine reported. 

In 2014, a soldier killed five colleagues before shooting himself in Indian-occupied Kashmir after a superior denied him leave.