Punjab: Top army official kills wife, shoots himself in his house

Punjab: A serving Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army allegedly shot himself dead after killing his wife over marital discord in Punjab’s Ferozepur cantonment on Sunday night.

First shot his wife, went to temple; then shot himself

The police said on Monday the army officer, Lt Col Nishant, 44, first shot his wife Dimple, 42, in the head at his residence in Ferozepur cantt around 9.15pm. Minutes later, he went to his unit’s temple at the quarter guard, prayed there before shooting himself dead, too.

Learning of the suicide, the army officers tried to call up his wife at home but found no response from the other side following which they informed the police. On reaching the residence of the army officer, the police found his wife lying dead.

Police recover suicide note

The police said they had recovered a suicide note at their house in which he had admitted to killing his wife over a marital dispute. The army public relations officer said the couple was also undergoing regular counselling over marital discord.

According to information, Lt Col Nishant belonged to Himachal Pradesh while his wife was from Dehradun in Uttarakhand. Stating that the families of the deceased were informed, the police said the bodies of the couple were taken to district civil hospital for post mortem.

The police said their only son was not staying with them.