KOZHIKODE: An NCC student was mysteriously shot dead at the Army’s shooting range at West Hill on Tuesday afternoon. Dhanush Krishna, 17, a Plus-Two student of Mar Thoma Dionysius Higher Secondary School, Pathanapuram, was killed in a gunshot from a .22 rifle, when eight of his team mates were practising at the shooting range. An NCC officer and another NCC cadet were also present when the tragedy occurred.
Dhanush Krishna, who had completed his practice before lunch, was shot while he was sitting on the floor in a shed adjacent to the shooting range where loaded rifles were kept.
His team mates, who had also completed their practice, heard the sound of a gunshot.
When they turned back, they saw the NCC officer lifting Dhanush who was lying on the floor. He was carried to the barracks and rushed to a private hospital.
The city police were informed about the tragedy and the city commissioner of police and the deputy commissioner inspected the body at the hospital.
“Doctors said the boy was brought dead. We saw a bullet below the right chest of the boy. It is confirmed that he died due to the bullet injury. However, how he was shot is not yet clear. The north assistant commissioner has been asked to investigate the case,” deputy commissioner of police, D. Sali, told mediapersons.
The attitude of NCC senior officials raised further doubts about the incident. The superiors did not allow mediapersons at the spot where the accident happened.
Moreover, they told the police that the boy was aged 19 and that he was a student of St. Stephen’s College, Pathanapuram.
“The boy is a Plus-Two student of Mar Thoma Dionysius Higher Secondary School which is owned by the St. Stephen’s College management. The boy had gone to the camp under the quota of the college as he was an excellent cadet. His mother Ramadevi is a panchayat member and his father is no more,” Mr P.M. Koshi, NCC in charge of St. Stephen’s College, told Deccan Chronicle.
He said the boy was enthusiastic about the NCC and determined to join the Indian Army. “He had completed the Inter Group Core camps and gone to Kozhikode to participate in the Thal Sainik NCC camp in New Delhi. He was cheerful and did not have any problems,” Mr Koshi said.
NCC senior officers were not available for comments. They will have to answer a lot of questions like how the boy, who had completed the practice, was allowed to inspect weapons at the shed and how the officials allowed more numbers of loaded rifles at the shed.
Police said there were 15 loaded rifles; seven were kept on the stands and eight used by the students for practising at the time of the tragedy.
The .22 calibre rifle can kill a person if he is within the range of 150 yards. Rifle experts say that it is possible for someone to pull the trigger and kill himself in a sitting position.
How the bullet travelled inside the body and whether it had come out of the body after hitting it are important. Police said that there were no exit injuries on the body of the boy, but they have ruled out any suicide angle in the case.
