Journalism of Courage
A court of inquiry has been ordered into the recent deaths of two cadets of the prestigious Indian Military Academy here after they fell sick during a 10-km-run as part of their routine training, sources said today. Dipak Sharma (22) from Bathinda in Punjab and Navin Chetri (23) from Darjeeling in West Bengal were among seven cadets who took ill after they participated in a 10-km-run called “Pahla Kadam” at the Badshahibagh training area on the outskirts of Dehradun on August 18, they said.
Sharma died at a hospital in Herbertpur during treatment the same day while Chetri passed away at Mahanth Indresh Hospital in Dehradun later. Prima facie, the cadets died due to exhaustion and dehydration, the sources said, adding the other five trainees had recovered.
A court of inquiry has been ordered into the unfortunate incident. However, such an inquiry is a routine exercise, they said. A court of inquiry is conducted by the Army whenever anything, whether major or minor, goes wrong at the IMA, they said adding there is nothing unusual about it.
