Two security personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), responsible for counter-terror operations in the Kashmir valley, were killed in a fratricide incident in Kashmir on Tuesday, said police. The incident took place in the water wing camp of CRPF at Dal Lake in Srinagar.
When a soldier or police officer kills someone he serves with, it is described as a 'fratricide'.
The Indian defence ministry recently revealed that nine cases of fratricide occurred in the armed forces between 2015 and January 2020.
The number of cases of fratricides in 2015-2019 were – one in Army (2015); two in Army and one in Air Force (2016); one in Army (2017); one in Army (2018); two in Army and one in Air Force (2019).
India has an elaborate mental health programme where, since 2009, sessions for stress management are organised for armed forces personnel at regular intervals.
In December 2019, at least five members of India’s central armed police forces were killed and three others injured in a similar incident in Chattisgarh.
A lot of suicide cases are also reported. In 2019, the Indian Navy (two), Air Force (20) and Army (73) reported 95 cases of suicide.
Frustration and staying away from family are cited as the reasons that servicemen develop such tendencies, according to a senior armed forces official.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked security chiefs to ensure that a constable gets to stay with his family for about 100 days.