A trainee officer of the Indian Navy died after he allegedly shot himself at INS Dronacharya in Fort Kochi on Sunday morning. The dead was as Sub Lieutenant Arun Kumar (27) of Peringalathur in Chennai.
“The officer shot himself while he was on duty,” naval sources said, adding Arun Kumar left a suicide note in which it was said, “I want to feel death. No one is responsible.” Fort Kochi CI Jayaraja, who has registered a case of unnatural death, said the shooting occurred at 10.20am when Arun Kumar was in charge of the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) at INS Dronacharya.
The police team examined the body, prepared an inquest and forwarded it to the Alappuzha Medical College for a forensic examination. A police finger print expert also examined the body. A ballistic expert would inspect the spot on Monday morning.
Sources said Arun Kumar was in light blue shirt and navy blue trousers when he killed himself. “Arun Kumar’s body was found in the rest room. The bullet was shot at his right temple. It passed through his head, came out through the other temple and got stuck at the opposite wall. The pistol was found near the body.
The suicide note, which was written using a marker pen, was found lying in the pool of blood.
The marker pen was also found near the body,” sources said.
Though the room was not locked from inside, nobody heard the sound of shot. He was found lying in the pool of blood when a colleague entered the room a few minutes later. He was immediately taken to the Navy hospital, but was declared “brought dead”.
It is learnt that Arun Kumar had the charge of QRT from 8am on Sunday to 8 am on Monday. He joined Indian Navy in 2003. Sources said Arun was strong both physically and mentally and hence the reason for the alleged suicide was yet to be identified. His relatives reached Kochi late on Sunday night. The police said his body will be handed over to the relatives on Monday.