Col rank officer to head court of inquiry into 2 trainee Agniveers’ death in Nashik

Pune: The Indian Army's School of Artillery has formed a panel of three officers to investigate the Light Field Gun shell explosion leading to two trainee Agniveers' death at the firing range in Nashik last week.
Southern Command, in its official X handle, had stated that a court of inquiry was initiated to determine the cause of the accident during field firing.
"A Colonel rank officer will preside over the Court of Inquiry. Lt Col rank officers will assist the presiding officer in the investigation," a senior Army officer told TOI on Monday. The primary focus would be to probe human or technical errors leading to the incident.
Vishwarajsinh Mahipatsinh Gohil (20) from Rajasthan and Saikat Shit (21) from West Bengal, the two trainee Agniveers of Indian Army, died and their instructor, an Army havildar, was injured when a light field gun (LFG) shell exploded around 12.10pm on Oct 10 during a field firing exercise at the firing range of Artillery Centre at Nashik Road.
"The panel first would check the ammunition standard. In past cases, faulty ammunition was often found to be the main cause behind such accidents. Also, if a particular shell is faulty, then an entire lot of ammunition will have to be segregated to avert such accidents at other units of the Army," said a senior officer who had probed one such accident in the past.
The panel would also check the report on ammunition before it was taken to the firing range. "It will help them understand the actual conditions of ammunition. It is impossible to investigate the remains of the exploded shell," the officer added.
"It would be an easier task for the panel to ascertain any fault or glitch in the machine used in the firing as it has not been damaged. If there are any glitches, it would be the responsibility of the inspection team entrusted with the task of carrying out certain mandatory checks before the firing. However, these guns are regularly used and are maintained," said the officer, who is familiar with firing drills.
The Indian Army currently operates with two variants of 105 mm: Indian Field Gun and Light Field Gun. They account for over 2,000 units in the Army's artillery units. These guns are in use for decades, but their durability and reliability have been proved in all varied conditions in the operational zones of the country's borders, the officers said.
Meanwhile, Southern Command authorities told TOI that the record office of the Artillery Centre Hyderabad from where a batch of Agniveers, including the two deceased, came for the firing exercise, has started the process related to compensation that would be given to Gohil and Shit's families in the coming weeks.