Agniveer Jawan Commits Suicide at Agra Air Force Station.
A 22-year-old Agniveer jawan, Shrikant Kumar Chaudhary, was found dead on the night of July 2 around 1:30 am. He reportedly took his own life by shooting himself with an INSAS service rifle.
Shrikant Kumar Chaudhary, originally from Narayanpur in Ballia, had been serving as a sentry in the Indian Air Force under the Agniveer scheme for the past one and a half years.
The reason behind the suicide remains unclear as no suicide note was found at the scene. Shrikant Kumar Chaudhary’s brother-in-law and other relatives took custody of the body, and no formal written complaint was filed by them. The police said they would take action if the family decides to file a complaint.
Shrikant’s elder brother Siddhant arrived at the Agra Air Force Station, from where he took the body to his village, prompting an outpouring of grief. The body was taken to Hukumchhpara Chhapra Ghat along the river Ganges, and a contingent of 45 Air Force personnel, dispatched from Bihar’s Bihta, rendered a final salute before the cremation.
Born and raised in Pachrukhiya New Basti (Narayanpur), Shrikant Kumar Chaudhary joined the Air Force in 2022 through the Centre’s Agniveer recruitment program. The family sought answers about the circumstances surrounding Shrikant’s death, but officials remained tight-lipped. Air Force Corporal B Singh, who accompanied the body, revealed only that the cause of death was a gunshot wound. A board of inquiry has been instituted to investigate the incident.
Inspector Amit Kumar Maan of Shahganj Police said Shrikant Kumar Chaudhary was rushed to the hospital by Air Force personnel, where he was pronounced dead. Preliminary findings indicate that the soldier shot himself between the eyebrows, with the bullet passing through the upper part of his head. The rifle has been sent to the forensic lab in Agra for analysis.
This loss brings to mind the 2019 case of Himanshu Singh of Moradabad, a squadron leader whose body was found hanging in his Air Force campus residence.
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