An 18-year-old first-year cadet at the elite National Defence Academy (NDA) was found hanging in his hostel room at Khadakwasla, Pune, on Friday morning. His family claimed that he was being tortured by senior officers present at the NDA and that they had recently raised this to the notice of NDA officials.
However, police have said that no confirmation of ragging has been established thus far. The NDA has established a formal Court of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances around the death of the young cadet.
The body of Antariksh Kumar Singh was located by his fellow cadets at around 6 AM. No note of intent to commit suicide was found in the room and the youth was declared dead at the Military hospital located at Khadakwasla. The cause of death will be determined by a postmortem examination, officials indicated.
He was distressed by the harassment and would express that he wanted to give up on training at the academy, the family pointed out. “Everything was alright until he recently complained to his mother about harassment by some seniors. After that, the family took it to the authorities at the academy. His mother and grandmother went to the NDA before Navratri and pointed out the issue. The NDA authorities also responded and assured to take action,” Singh’s maternal uncle AP Singh, who retired from the Indian Army, was quoted by PTI as saying.
He said the teenager spoke to his mother on Thursday afternoon.
“It seems something happened later in the evening as there was a party there. It seems something happened during the party which made Antriksh very sad and prompted him to take the extreme step,” he said.
Singh, hailing from Lucknow and the son of a former serviceman, began the NDA in July of this year as a member of Charlie Squadron training for the Indian Air Force. His family is traveling to Pune. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic demise of Cadet Antriksh Kumar Singh,” the NDA said in an official statement.
A team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Sambhaji Kadam is investigating the circumstances with the family on their way to Pune for further investigation.
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