DSC Sepoy Rakesh Kumar Singh Dies Five Days After Gunshot Injury at NDA Khadakwasla
A 46-year-old Defence Security Corps (DSC) sepoy posted at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Khadakwasla, Pune, has died after being injured in a shooting incident at a security post inside the academy campus. Sepoy Rakesh Kumar Singh, who belonged to the 282 Defence Security Corps platoon and was originally from Bihar, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment five days after the incident.
The shooting took place on September 11 at around 10:18 am at Post No. 8 within the NDA premises, according to Uttamnagar police. Singh was on duty at the outpost when the incident occurred. A sentry stationed at a nearby tower reportedly heard the sound of gunfire and rushed to the post, where he found the DSC personnel critically injured. The control room was alerted immediately, and the injured soldier was evacuated for medical care.
Police said the bullet entered through the front of Singh’s neck and exited from the back, causing severe blood loss. He was first taken to the Military Hospital at Khadakwasla and later shifted to Command Hospital in Wanowrie for further treatment. Despite medical intervention, he died on Wednesday.
Following his death, a post-mortem examination was carried out at Sassoon Hospital, after which the body was handed over to his family.
Uttamnagar police have registered an accidental death report and begun an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the firing. A spot panchnama was conducted, and investigators recovered a spent cartridge from the soldier’s service rifle. Preliminary findings suggest that the injury was caused by his own service weapon, but police have not yet established the exact sequence of events.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether the weapon discharged accidentally or under some other circumstances. As part of the probe, authorities are examining the service rifle, the security post and other evidence. Police are also working with NDA authorities to reconstruct the moments leading up to the firing.
Southern Command officials have confirmed Singh’s death, while the NDA has not yet issued further details.
The incident comes less than two weeks after another service personnel associated with the NDA was found dead on a railway track between Khadki and Shivajinagar on September 1. A Court of Inquiry was ordered in that case.
The National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla is India’s tri-service military training institution, where cadets selected for the Army, Navy and Air Force train together before moving on to their respective service academies.
No official conclusion has yet been announced on the cause of the September 11 shooting, and the matter remains under investigation.
