A 35-year-old army jawan allegedly shot himself dead with his service rifle at DRDO's Radar Observatory Air Surveillance unit in Odisha's Kendrapara district, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place when the army jawan, identified as Sepoy Raj Sekharan, a native of Tamil Nadu, was on duty at the facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Kiyarbanka village in Mahakalpada police station area around 2 am on Sunday.

He was found lying in a pool of blood and was rushed to a nearby government-run hospital, where he was declared brought dead, a police officer said.

As per preliminary investigation, it seems to be a suicide case but further probe is underway, Inspector Bimal Kumar Mallik of Mahalakpada police station said, adding the rifle was seized and sent for examination.

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