NEW DELHI, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian army troopers engaged under a short-term contractual basis scheme were killed after a shell exploded during a training session in India's western state of Maharashtra, police said Friday.
The shell exploded Thursday at the Artillery Centre in Nashik, about 219 km northeast of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.
"Yesterday during a firing practice session at the Artillery Centre in Nashik, a shell exploded wounding two troopers. Though they were immediately removed to a hospital in Deolali, the doctors there declared them dead," a police official said. "Both of them were recruited under a scheme called Agnipath (path of fire) and locally called Agniveer (fire warrior)."
The scheme bats for the recruitment of soldiers in the army, the navy and the air force, largely on a short-term contractual basis.
The duo along with others had come from Hyderabad for training at Artillery School.
Reports said the army has ordered a court of inquiry into the incident to ascertain the cause of the accident that led to the killing of the duo. ■
