NDA cadet death: Body handed over to family

The National Defence Academy (NDA) on Monday handed over the body of cadet Ajitesh Anuj Goel to his family. A press release issued by the NDA said, “The cadet’s body was handed over to his father on February 4 morning and all the administrative arrangements made for an officer to escort the body by air to Delhi, and onward to his home town, Kashipur, Uttrakhand; and to be present till completion of last rites. An internal enquiry on the incident leading to the loss of life has been initiated.”

According to the official statement issued by the NDA, second year (fourth term) Army Cadet, Ajitesh Anuj Goel,19, of the NDA, died on the night of February 2 whilst participating in a routine training activity, which was being conducted in accordance with the promulgated programme. “The 4th term cadets were being given practical exposure in the aspects of night navigation and map reading. The activity was being conducted within the geographical limits of the Academy. The activity was to teach the cadets various aspects of field craft and was supervised by group of trained instructors with proper medical cover. This training exposure focuses on technical map reading skills, and to facilitate better supervision. The 4th term cadets were split into two groups of approximately 180 cadets in each. The cadet was part of the first group,” the press release said.

The Cadet collapsed short of the finishing point at around 9.25 pm and immediate CPR was administered on site. He was then rushed to the Military Hospital located within the NDA campus, but could not be revived. An FIR was lodged at the Uttam Nagar police station, Pune on February 2. The father of the cadet was informed, who arrived at the NDA campus on February 3. The cadet’s father is self-employed. The cadet had joined NDA on June 23, 2011on completion of XII from a Sainik School.