Since 2012, 11 fratricides in army, one in air force

The army has witnessed 11 incidents of fratricide since 2012, while there was one in the air force, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday.

The minister told the Rajya Sabha that the air force incident took place in 2014, while there was none in the navy.

Parrikar said the "possible causative factors for committing fratricide" were stress, personal problems and financial problems.

Asked about remedial measures, the minister said: "The government has taken several steps to spread awareness about psycho-social issues and to prevent incidents of fratricide."

These included "psychological counselling by psychological counsellors, conduct of workshops on mental health, conduct of yoga and meditation as part of unit routine, establishing a grievance redressal mechanism, improvement in living and working conditions through provision of better infrastructure and facilities, additional family accommodation, facilities for movement of troops from border areas and liberalised leave policy".

"These measures are taken within the existing resources and manpower of the armed forces," he said.