Vadodara, April 23: A nine-year-old girl died on Sunday afternoon when she accidentally shot herself while playing with her Army officer father's service pistol at home in the Tarsali area of Vadodara. Sonia Sundersinh was declared dead minutes after being admitted to SSG Hospital.
Police officers said the bullet from the .32 bore pistol pierced Sonia's head and hit the roof of the house. Her father Shyam Sundersinh is a nayak in the air defence regiment of the Army. The parents of the girl were in a state of shock, unable to accept their daughter's death, and refused to speak to anyone.
Sonia's seven-year-old brother Aum was also in the house when the incident happened. "Sundersinh and his wife had gone to the railway station to drop his parents who were going out of station," said Makarpura police inspector L B Monpara. "The couple had left the kids alone at home as they planned to return early. Shyam had locked the house from outside and given keys to the children."
At around 2.45 pm, the neighbours heard a gunshot and rushed to the house. They saw Sonia lying in a pool of blood and Aum standing nearby. The boy handed over the keys to the neighbours, who entered the house and called up 108 emergency services.
"The girl was lying on the floor near the sofa and the pistol was found nearby. The firearm was loaded with seven cartridges in it when the cops seized it. It seems she shot herself while playing with the pistol," said Vadodara police commissioner Satish Sharma.
Sundersinh had been posted in the city for a long time and had been living alone. He brought in his wife and kids to live with him only about three months ago. "When we asked Sundersinh whether he kept the pistol in a safe place, he said his wife usually took care of it. A case of negligence may be registered against him," Monpara said.
Comments
Add new comment