No recruitment drive in 2 years, Army aspirant turns ‘overage’, dies by suicide

“Pawan wanted to join the Army. He had been making efforts. He used to reach the playground in the morning much before other youths for running practise. Two-three times he cleared the physical fitness exam for Army recruitment but could not make it to the final cut-off. He was hoping to make the final cut in his remaining attempts but the recruitment process was put on hold amid Covid-19 pandemic due to which he crossed the age bar. On Wednesday evening, he had told his father that he had no aim left in his life after turning overage. But his father did not take it seriously. His juniors spotted Pawan’s body Thursday morning,” said a police official.

Two lines in Hindi were found written on the track where he used to run: Bapu, is janam me nahi ban saka, agla janam liya to fauji jaroor Banunga (I could not become an Army man in this life, but I will definitely become one if I am born again)”.

ASI Singh added: “The family members told us that they don’t want any police action into the matter”.

No FIR was registered, a police official said, adding the body was handed over to the family.

The issue, meanwhile, took a political turn with Opposition parties in Haryana lashing out at Centre. BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi too reacted sharply asking when will the government listen to the pleas of the hard working youth who are getting depressed after turning overage as Centre has kept the Army recruitment drive on hold for three years.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that nearly 10,000 youth from Haryana have lost the opportunity of joining Army in the absence of recruitment drive. “As many as 4.5 lakh youth are preparing for the Army in different parts of state currently while two lakh others have already turned overage,” added Surjewala.

Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Pawan gave up his life due to unemployment. “He had been for army recruitment drive, but the government did not conduct any in the last three years and he, eventually, took the extreme step of taking his own life. The youth of Haryana are facing the highest unemployment in the country and this is the reason why frustration among state’s youth is the highest. Due to unemployment, youth are getting caught in the grip of crime and drugs,” said Hooda.

Expressing similar sentiments, senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala urged the government to restart the Army recruitment drives. Haryana has a sizable contribution in the armed forces.

Three weeks back, around a thousand aspirants had gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the delay in the army recruitment process. They claimed that there has been no recruitment in the Indian Army, Indian Airforce and Indian Naval Academy for the non-officer posts for the last two years which has severely affected their career.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on March 21 had informed Rajya Sabha that the recruitment process in the Army has been suspended for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt’s written reply in the Rajya Sabha, a total of 97 recruitment rallies were planned in 2020-21, out of which only 47 were conducted. Out of the 47 recruitment rallies, Common Entrance Exam (CEE) for only four could be conducted before suspension of the recruitment drive due to the pandemic. A total of 87 recruitment rallies were to be held in 2021-22, of which only four have been conducted yet and no CEE could be conducted.