Chandigarh, April 17 (IANS) Punjab Police on Monday claimed that an Indian Army gunner was arrested for killing his four unarmed colleagues, who were asleep in a barrack in the Bathinda Military Station, last week.

The gunner was an eyewitness who had falsely claimed that two masked people in 'kurta pyjamas' disappeared into a nearby forest after committing the crime in the wee hours of April 12.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana told the media that Mohan Desai, who was the prime witness to the incident, turned out to be the killer and has been arrested by police.

Police officers investigating the case said the motive for the killing seemed to be personal, largely "physical harassment".

After the killing of the four men from an artillery regiment -- Sagar Banne, Kamalesh R, Yogesh Kumar J, and Santosh M Nagral in their rooms in a barrack behind the officers' mess, the Army had said a search team has located the INSAS rifle along with the magazine involved in the killing.

Earlier, police said two unidentified persons in civil dress opened fire at Army personnel sleeping in barracks, killing four men. Nineteen empty shells of an INSAS rifle were recovered from the crime scene.

Chandigarh, April 13 (IANS) Hours after the killing of four Army men inside the Bathinda military station in Punjab, another jawan died when his service weapon went off accidentally, police said.

The Indian Army, in a statement, on Thursday said there was no connection whatsoever between both the incidents. The second one purportedly seems to be an attempted suicide.

A soldier died of a gunshot wound at around 4.30 p.m on Wednesday. He was on sentry duty with his service weapon. The weapon and cartridge case from the same weapon was found next to the soldier, it said.

The gunshot wound was near the right temporal region. He was immediately evacuated to the Military Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.

The jawan had returned from leave on April 11.

Meanwhile, a police station in the cantonment received a complaint about the accidental death of Army man Laghu Raj Shankar and the police have started a probe into this matter.

After the killing of the four men, the Indian Army had said a search team has located the INSAS rifle along with the magazine involved in the killing. However, it said no individual has been detained.

"The Army and police joint teams will now be undertaking forensic analysis of the weapon for ascertaining further details," it said in a bulletin on Wednesday evening.

Two unidentified persons in civil dress opened fire at Army personnel sleeping in barracks early Wednesday, killing four men, the Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Ajay Gandhi had said, adding 19 empty shells of an INSAS rifle were recovered from the spot.

Chandigarh, April 12 (IANS) Considering sensitivities involved, the Indian Army on Wednesday asked the media to avoid rumours and refrain from speculation over a firing incident inside the Military Station in Punjab's Bathinda, which led to the deaths of four soldiers, and "the area continues to be sealed off to establish the facts of the case".

The firing took place at about 4.35 a.m. at the military base -- the largest in Asia -- located some 100 km from the border of Pakistan.

"It has been ascertained that in the unfortunate incident, four army jawans of an artillery unit succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during the incident," the South Western Command headquarters said in a statement.

"No other injuries to personnel or loss/damage to property have been reported. The area continues to be sealed off and joint investigations with Punjab Police are being coordinated to establish the facts of the case."

The statement said all aspects, including the possible case of involvement of an INSAS rifle along with 28 rounds reported missing two days back, are being ascertained.

Earlier, the South Western Command said Station Quick Reaction Teams had been activated and search operations were in progress.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana told the media that "it was not a terror attack and seemed to be some internal development in the military station".

He said the police teams have been on spot for an in-depth investigation and assisting the local military authorities.

The Bathinda cantonment, which houses one of the biggest ammunition depots in the country, located along the National Highway-7 on the Chandigarh-Fazilka stretch that further leads to Rajasthan.