Agency
NEW DELHI
The Indian army said on Wednesday it had located an assault rifle believed to have been used to kill four soldiers at a military base in the northern border state of Punjab, though no one had yet been arrested over the attack. An earlier army statement said that the four soldiers succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the firing incident at 4:35 a.m. (2305 GMT Tuesday).
The incident was “not a terror attack”, Punjab police officer SPS Parmar said. The second army statement said a search team had found the rifle and its magazine and would be subjected to forensic analysis. “The ... number of rounds (unused) in the weapon will only be available after forensic analysis. The joint investigation with Punjab police is in progress,” it said.
Ajay Gandhi, a senior district police officer heading the investigation, told Reuters that a police complaint based on a statement of army personnel referred to the involvement of “two unknown people” in the attack. There was no exchange of fire after the shooting, and the base was locked down to search for the assailants. “The attackers had only one rifle. The weapon carried by the other attacker is still being investigated,” Gandhi said by phone, adding that the search for the two continues.
The earlier statement said a rifle with 28 rounds was reported missing.
