Accident or murder? Constable found dead

The body of a constable with the Sixth Battalion of the Indian Reserve Battalion was found with a gunshot wound from his service rifle in Sector 39, near Minister8217;s Complex, on Sunday morning.

Body of Bal Mohammad was found with a gunshot wound; bullet fired from his service rifle, say police

The body of a constable with the Sixth Battalion of the Indian Reserve Battalion IRB was found with a gunshot wound from his service rifle in Sector 39, near Minister8217;s Complex, on Sunday morning.

The deceased was identified as 40-year-old Bal Mohammad, a native of Ropar. He was posted as a guard at the rear side of the complex.

According to the police, the deceased was found sitting on a bench with the gun resting between his legs. Blood was oozing out of the gunshot wound on the left side of his chest.

Certain facts have aroused the suspicion of the police as to whether the death was an accident or murder.

The magazine and cover of the chamber of the constable8217;s Self Loading Rifle SLR, was found removed and placed on another bench facing the deceased. Also, the gun was set on the 8216;repeat8217; mode which is usually locked. Around six bullets were also recovered from beneath the bench.

Police also found a steel glass, an empty bottle of liquor and a bowl near the body.

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8220;Why did the constable remove the magazine and pull out the bullets from it? Also, the 8216;repeat8217; mode is used only when you have to shoot. The facts of the case will be clear only after our investigation is complete,8221; said Superintendent of Police Security H S Doon.

Narrating the sequence of events that led to the discovery of the body, Havaldar Harmail Singh, the guard incharge of the Minister8217;s Complex, said: 8220;I keep in regular contact with the personnel in the complex over the cellphone the entire night. Around 2 am, I didn8217;t get a response from Mohammad. When I went there, I found him sitting on the bench and thought he may be sleeping on duty. But when I moved closer, I saw blood oozing out of his chest and realised he was dead.8221;

Then Harmail informed his senior officer, Inspector Dinesh Bahadur, and the police about the incident. Later, a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory CFSL collected samples from the site.

The body of the deceased has been kept in the mortuary of Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. It will be handed over to the relatives after the postmortem on Monday.

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Station House Officer of the Sector-39 police station, Inspector Janak Rana, said they have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.

The deceased is survived by his wife and five children.

Mohammad8217;s brother, Ramzaan, said: 8220;He had visited us during Diwali and seemed happy. We have no reason to suspect suicide.8221;