A 25-year-old Marine Commando (Marcos) of the Indian Navy, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol on Sunday night at about 10.30 p.m. in his duty room at INS Kalinga.
The deceased Marcos has been identified as Virendra, son of Jaipal, and a native of Jhajjar village in Haryana. According to the police, the commando who was unmarried shot himself through his head at point blank range. He was not in his uniform and had joined service about five years ago. He was shifted to a corporate hospital in the city almost immediately, but was declared as brought dead.
However, according to the naval version, Virender was a first class seaman, and he sustained bullet injury while handling firearms. He was shifted to a private hospital in the city where he succumbed to this injury.
According to the police, Marcos is an elite commando force of the Navy and each commando is allotted individual kits, which include their weapons. They are trained to be battle ready and have access to weapons, said a police officer. INS Kalinga is one among the five naval bases that houses the elite force.
According to Bheemunipatnam Police Station SHO Appalanaidu, the reason for suicide is still to be ascertained and the police are investigating the case. As per a naval release, a board of inquiry has been ordered to look into the incident.
