By IANS
Jammu/New Delhi : An Indian Army captain posted in Jammu and Kashmir allegedly committed suicide in her home here, officials said Monday.
Army and police sources said Captain Megha Razdan of the Corps of Engineers regiment was found hanging by her husband Captain Chetanya Bhatawadekar Saturday evening at their home in the defence enclave at Kunjwani on the outskirts of Jammu.
Bhatawadekar, who belongs to the same regiment, had gone shopping in the neighbourhood and found the door locked from inside when he returned.
"I peeped from the window and saw Megha hanging," he told police officials.
This is the first instance of a suicide by an army officer this year. Police have found a suicide note, the contents of which were not revealed.
"We cannot reveal the contents of the note till preliminary investigations are over," police said.
After an autopsy, Razdan's body was handed over to her husband. The last rites will be performed at her hometown Pathankot in Punjab.
Bhatawadekar hails from Kolhapur in Maharashtra. The couple had got married last September. Both have served in the army for a little over two years.
The army has ordered a court of inquiry to be conducted by a brigadier to ascertain the reasons behind Razdan's extreme step.
In New Delhi, the Indian Army mourned Razdan's death.
"The army regrets every loss of life to a suicide as lives are very precious," army spokesperson Col. S.K. Sakhuja said.
"However, there is no unusual increase in the number of suicides, which, on an average, is around 100 every year. In the last six months, 50 lives have been lost to suicides. These figures, statistically, are much lower than the national average," he added.
The national average is 11 to 11.5 suicides per 100,000 of the population. In the army, the figure is 7.5 per 100,000 soldiers.