Soldier's death leads to scuffle between jawans and officers near China border

The death of a soldier during a routine training drill led to a clash between officers and jawans of a unit positioned near the India-China border in the North-East. An Indian Army officer suffered injuries in the scuffle, officials at Army headquarters here said.

Denying some social media reports of it being a "mutiny- like" situation, the Army said in a statement: "A case of death of a jawan during routine training activity has taken place in an infantry unit in the North-East. It is not a case of any mutiny. The jawan complained of chest pain prior to the route march. He was checked by the unit MO (Medical Officer) and found fit. The jawan later collapsed during the march. He was brought to the field ambulance where he succumbed.

"A few jawans got emotional and on being consoled by the adjutant, got agitated and this led to a minor scuffle. No one was seriously injured. The incident is being investigated."

The Army also denied reports that the situation went out of control and reinforcement unit was called in.

The 10-km march, according to unconfirmed reports, was a punishment drill, following a verbal spat between a jawan and an officer. The Army headquarters denied the report.

In a similar incident, at the Nyoma sector of eastern Ladakh, in May 2012, jawans had attacked officers in an artillery unit during field firing following a confrontation. Though the Army played it down that time as a "minor scuffle," inquiries later revealed major disciplinary lapses and failure of command and control.