Indian army personnel kills officer following argument 'over mobile phone'

The development comes amid concerns on low morale of Indian security forces

An Indian soldier shot dead on Tuesday his commanding officer in Indian-held Kashmir following an altercation.

While the army did not release further details, some junior officers said the argument, which led to the incident started over a mobile phone, the BBC reported.

Reports suggested the soldier had been admonished for using phone during duty hours, with the device also being confiscated.

The incident comes at a time when concerns are already being raised about the morale of Indian forces.

In January this year, an Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier Tej Bahadur Yadav highlighted the condition of food he and his fellow troopers were being served, saying they were forced to sleep on empty stomach. Yadav was later dismissed from service.

A few days later, a personnel of India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) also questioned, what he called, ill treatment meted out to personnel compared to the military service.