NEW DELHI: In yet another stress-related death in the armed forces, an Army jawan shot dead a young major after he was pulled up for using a mobile phone during guard duty in a forward post near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday night. Naik Kathi Resan (19 Madras) fired two bursts from his AK-47 assault rifle at Major Shikar Thapa, who was commissioned into 71 Armoured Regiment in December 2011, while the latter was walking away after scolding the former in the 8 Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed in the Uri sector at about 9.45 pm.“The officer had pulled up the jawan for using his mobile phone while on duty at a security post. Mobile phones are not allowed on such duties beause they distract attention and illuminate the user’s face, making it easier for the enemy or terrorists to spot him from a distance,” said an officer.“There was a heated argument between the two. The phone also fell down and got damaged while it was being confiscated. This angered the jawan who opened fire to kill the officer, who hailed from Dharamshala and has left behind his wife and a three-month-old son, on the spot. Further investigations are in progress,” he added.As earlier reported by TOI, the 15-lakh strong armed forces continue to lose over 100 personnel in stress-related deaths in the form of suicides and fragging or fratricide (to kill a fellow-soldier or superior) every year.In 2016, for instance, the Army recorded 101 suicides and two cases of fratricide, while the figure for IAF was 19 and one respectively. The Navy , in turn, had five suicide cases. This despite all the so-called measures undertaken by the defence establishment to reduce stress among soldiers, airmen and sailors deployed far away from their families.Soldiers often undergo tremendous mental stress for not being able to take care of the problems being faced by their families back home, which could range from property disputes and harassment by anti-social elements to financial and marital problems. “With mobile phones, jawans keep on getting constant updates from their families about their problems,” said an officer.Prolonged deployment in counter-insurgency operations in J&K and North-East also takes a toll on the physical endurance and mental health of soldiers. All this is also compounded by poor salaries, denial of leave, lack of basic amenities, ineffectual leadership and sometimes humiliation at the hands of their officers.The defence ministry, on its part, says a large number of officers have been trained as counsellors, apart from hiring of some civilian psychological counsellors to provide “mental health services”.Other measures include improvement in living and working conditions, provision of additional family accommodation and a liberalized leave policy as well as strengthening of grievance redressal mechanisms and the conduct of yoga and meditation as part of a unit’s routine.