The death of Nitesh Gaur, a cadet of the National Defence Academy (NDA), has raised questions about the stress levels that the cadets go through at the nation’s premier defence academy. Gaur had collapsed during a cross-country run in the academy on Thursday.

He was rushed to the Military Hospital in Khadakwasla, but all efforts to revive him failed and he died around 5.45 pm, after which his body was shifted to the Sassoon Hospital. His father Ram Narayan took the body to Bhopal on Friday.

Major Bhagirath Dey, public relations officer, NDA, said Gaur was taking part in a training activity, a 12-km cross-country run, and had collapsed after completing it.

Commenting on the training schedule in NDA, Dr B K Trivedi, a former administrator with the armed forces in Oman, said, “The armed forces act on time-tested protocols. The training programmes at NDA are designed in consultation with the appropriate authorities and stress levels are defined. Sometimes it so happens that the cadet faces some problems and he keeps pushing himself. But if the trainers exceed the rigour, then there is a risk of injury.”

Trivedi said the stress levels must be acceptable, as many cadets have passed out of the academy over years.

Lt Col (retd) Pradeep Brahmankar also felt the stress levels are manageable. “When I was undergoing training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), a cadet had died during a 2.4-km run. These are rare cases,” Brahmankar said, adding that Gaur was in the second term and not new.

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