An officer in the special forces of the Indian Navy lost his life after his parachute failed to deploy during a jump in the skies over West Bengal early on Wednesday, April 5. He has been identified as Petty Officer Chandaka Govind, 31, a resident of Andhra Pradesh. The Eastern Naval Command confirmed that Govind was attached to INS Karna, the dedicated base for the Navy's Marine Commandos (Marcos) in Visakhapatnam. Meanwhile, Govind’s body reached his hometown Cheepurupalli village in Vizianagaram district on Friday, April 7. Navy and police officials are expected to attend Govind’s funeral.
Govind, in a brown jumpsuit and helmet, was found outside the gate of a factory in Barjora in the Bankura district of West Bengal on Wednesday morning. A partially open parachute was attached to his shoulders. The police took him to the Barjora Super Specialty Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has also confirmed that Govind – part of a team of paratroopers training at Air Force Station Arjan Singh in Panagarh in the Burdwan district of West Bengal – went missing during a routine drop from a C130J Super Hercules aircraft.
Adm R Hari Kumar #CNS & all personnel of #IndianNavy pay tribute to Chandaka Govind, Petty Officer who lost his life whilst undergoing training exercise at Panagarh on 05 Apr 23 and extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. pic.twitter.com/FRLZ9k5018
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) April 5, 2023
"A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been constituted to probe the incident. Prima facie, it seems that the main parachute of the ill-fated soldier failed to open. He may have opted for his emergency chute but it could have malfunctioned as well. A probe will reveal what actually went wrong. Barjora is barely 20 km (as the crow flies) from Panagarh and there is no mystery why he landed there," IANS quoted an official as saying.