Maharashtra Man Dies Hours After Collapsing During 'Agnipath' Physical Test

A 22-year-old man died on Thursday, hours after collapsing while running as part of a physical test for the 'Agnipath' defence recruitment scheme in Aurangabad city of Maharashtra, a police official said on Thursday.

Karan Pawar, a resident of Vitthalwadi village in Kannad tehsil of Aurangabad, died while undergoing treatment in a government hospital here in the morning after he collapsed during the physical test, he said.

Mr Pawar had come to Aurangabad to take part in the 'Agniveer' recruitment programme. This process has been underway in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University campus since the last couple of days, the official said.

"Pawar, who was running as part of one of the fitness tests for the recruitment process, collapsed on the ground around 1 am on Thursday. He was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital for treatment, but died in the morning during treatment," he said.

After the post-mortem, his body was handed over to his family members this evening, a senior official of Begumpura police station said, adding that a probe will be conducted into the death.

The Agnipath scheme was announced by the Centre on June 14 for recruitment in the three armed forces. Those recruited under the new scheme will be called Agniveers.

The scheme seeks to recruit youngsters in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half to 21 years for a four-year period, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper-age limit has been extended to 23 years.

Several parts of the country had witnessed violent protests against the scheme that largely provides for a four-year tenure on a contractual basis and does not offer pensions and other benefits that regular soldiers are given.

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