Agartala: Two commanding officers of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) 5th battalion have been shot dead by a fellow rifleman this morning at Konaban Gas Collection Centre of ONGC under Sepahijala district following an altercation over leave related matters.
The accused rifleman Sukanta Das (38) surrendered to Madhupur police station with the assault rifle admitting the crime. The senior police and TSR officials have been interrogating the accused to ascertain the reason for the incident.
According to reports, Sukanta Das along with 16 others have been under the command of Naib Subedar Kiran Jamatia. Sukanta wanted to go on leave, which was stuck for the last few days as he was selected for a refresher course. Last evening he had persuaded the matter with Jamatia, who referred him to company Commander Subedar Marka Singh Jamatia.
This morning when Marka Jamatia had gone to the company on his regular visit, Sukanta persuaded him to grant leave. With the refusal, he got engaged in an altercation with both the officers and after some time, he opened indiscriminate firing from his service rifle.
Subedar Marka Singh Jamatia (49) died on the spot while Naib Subedar Kiran Jamatia (37) sustained serious bullet shots and succumbed to the injuries on the way to the hospital. Both the deceased and the accused rifleman belong to Udaipur of Gomati district. The wife of accused Sukanta – Mallika Reang is a police constable posted at R K Pur police station in the home district.
The state government ordered an enquiry into the incident while the accused was produced to the court.
