In a tragic incident at Bikaner’s Mahajan Field Firing Range, two Indian Army soldiers lost their lives during a training exercise on Wednesday. The explosion occurred while the soldiers were loading ammunition into a tank. The force of the blast killed the two soldiers instantly, while a third soldier sustained serious injuries.
The bodies of the deceased, identified as Ashutosh Mishra from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, and Jitendra from Dausa, Rajasthan, have been sent to the Military Hospital in Suratgarh for post-mortem. The injured soldier was airlifted to a hospital in Chandigarh for treatment.
According to a Defence spokesperson, the explosion happened when a charger detonated during the ammunition loading process. “The charger exploded while the soldiers were loading the ammunition,” said the spokesperson. The incident came to light when a sudden explosion was heard, prompting immediate action from senior officers, including Circle Officer Lunkaransar Narendra Kumar Poonia, who visited the scene. Authorities believe a mistake during the loading procedure may have led to the tragic accident.
This incident marks the second fatality at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in just a few days. On December 15, Havildar Chandra Prakash Patel, 31, from the 199th Medium Regiment, also died in an accident during a training exercise. Patel was involved in towing a gun vehicle when it lost traction, causing the vehicle to slip backward and critically injure him. Despite being rushed to a nearby field hospital, Patel succumbed to his injuries.
A court of inquiry has been ordered in both incidents to determine the causes and circumstances surrounding these fatalities. Defence sources confirmed that Patel’s death, occurring during an operational exercise, qualifies as a battle casualty.
The Indian Army has expressed its condolences and is conducting investigations into both incidents.
