A BSF trooper opened fire and killed four of his colleagues before falling to a bullet at the paramilitary force’s 144 battalion camp in Amritsar, Punjab, on Sunday.

A BSF spokesperson said the incident took place around 9.35am on the battalion campus in the Khasa area, barely 12km from the Attari-Wagah border crossing along the India-Pakistan frontier.

The accused constable has been identified as Satteppa S.K.

A sixth constable who sustained bullet injuries was admitted to a hospital and his condition is said to be critical.

The victims include personnel in the ranks of constable and head constable.

“A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident to ascertain its cause and suggest remedial measures,” the spokesperson said.

Senior officers of the BSF and Punjab police rushed to the spot after the incident.

Sources said Satteppa was said to be upset about his duty hours and opened fire at his colleagues. He even fired shots at the vehicle of the commanding officer parked on the campus. It was not clear if he shot himself or was fired upon by others.

“It’s a very shocking incident. A detailed investigation will bring out the exact cause behind the firing,” the spokesperson said.

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, had highlighted the service conditions in the paramilitary forces and cited several reasons, including slow promotions, salary mismatches, too much work, separation from family and continuous “hard” postings, leading to stress among the jawans.

“Stress, denial of leave, long separation from families and sometimes humiliation by senior officials lead to violent behaviour among jawans,” a BSF official said, quoting from the IIM report.

In November last year, four CRPF troopers were killed and three injured after one of their colleagues had opened fire at them at the paramilitary force’s camp in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.

The fratricide killing in Chhattisgarh had then prompted the top CRPF brass to issue a fresh advisory to its formations to check mental and emotional stress among the troops.