Soldier facing probe in boy burning case shoots himself

A soldier, who was being questioned in a case in which an 11-year-old boy was burnt alive, committed suicide here early Monday, police said.

Lance Naik Appala Raju shot himself with his service rifle at the army garrisson in Mehdipatnam area in the heart of the city.

Police and army officials said no suicide note was found.

"Probably, the jawan was under immense mental stress due to the ongoing interrogation. The army is fully cooperating with police and wants the truth to come out at the earliest," said a defence statement.

The lance naik was reportedly grilled by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the Oct 9 incident in which a boy was burnt alive allegedly by armymen.

The army said the soldier's suicide should not be taken as an indication of his involvement in the case.

They said the soldier was one of the over 70 people being interrogated by police in the case.

The boy was found with serious burn injuries near the main gate of the garrison. He told a magistrate in his dying declaration that some armymen poured kerosene on him and set him ablaze.

Mustafa, a madrasa student and a resident of Siddiq Nagar abutting the garrison, died the next day.

Police registered a case of murder against unidentified armymen and an SIT was constituted a few days ago to probe the incident.