BENGALURU: Alleging foul play in the death of their 22-year-old son Narendra R., an army man deployed at Pahalgam in Anantnag district of South Jammu and Kashmir, parents of the young soldier have demanded an inquiry into their son’s death.
Narendra, who joined the Army two years ago, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a service rifle issued to him at the Pahalgam camp on Sunday morning. But his parents Raju and Pushpa, who live in Rajagopalnagar in the city, suspect foul play and have refused to buy the Army's version.
Raju told Deccan Chronicle that his son spoke to everyone at home via a video call on Saturday night and he was happy as usual. But the family’s world turned upside down when they received a call around 8 am on Sunday from an army officer, who informed them about their son’s suicide.
“The person on the other side sought to know if I was Narendra’s father. When I said yes, he told me that Narendra had shot himself dead. I went blank for a few moments and then asked him to show Narendra’s picture as evidence as I did not believe our son could commit suicide, but the man refused to comply,” a sobbing Raju said.
The army officer told Raju that Narendra committed suicide three minutes before his shift was to end at 6 am on Sunday. Narendra was found dead inside the camp when army officials rushed to the camp after hearing a gunshot. “There should be an inquiry into our son’s death. Army officials should prove that my son committed suicide. If they don’t, we will fight it legally,” Raju said.
Narendra’s mother Pushpa too could not believe that her son committed suicide, and said that Narendra was a brave soldier, who had no reason to end his own life.
Narendra’s mortal remains are expected to arrive on Tuesday and the final rites wil be conducted the same day.
Narendra reported back to duty on Sept 27 after holiday
Narendra who was on leave from August 30 to September 26 reported to duty on September 27. Narendra, according to his father, spent most of the time with the family in Rajagopalnagar and cleared all the small debts his family had. During his visit, Narendra also bought a new house through home loan and his family had shifted to the house before he left Bengaluru on September 24. “A son who was so concerned about the well-being of his family would not commit suicide. Nothing was bothering him and, in fact, he was very happy after buying the new house,” one of his friends said.
