KADUKKAPPALAM (KANNUR): The bereaved family of Azad P. Nair, cadet at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai, who reportedly committed suicide on November 5, alleged that he was a victim of "mental and physical torture."

Alleging "glaring discrepancies" in the OTA authorities' account of the death of Azad, his brother P. Soumendu called for the intervention of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Defence Minister A.K. Antony to unravel the truth behind the reported suicide.

Terming his brother as a "motivator" who had the ability to face challenges, Mr. Soumendu said Azad was selected after undergoing strenuous physical and psychological tests at the Service Selection Board.

Son of an Airman, Azad was aware of the challenges at the OTA, the family in a memorandum said.

Humiliated

After joining the OTA in the second week of October, Azad had told his brother several times over phone that he was being humiliated by his seniors. He had been a victim of "various humiliating punishments," Mr. Soumendu alleged.

The memorandum said that on November 4, the day before he allegedly committed suicide, Azad had called his elder brother and told him that he had decided to quit the Academy. Azad sounded upset about his meeting with the Company Commander on a complaint from the Drill Master that he was not carrying out the requisite activities at the OTA, Mr. Soumendu said adding that he had consoled his brother by saying that their father had already left for Chennai and that he should wait for one more day before taking any decision to leave the OTA.

Their father, Padmanabhan Nair, reached the OTA at 10 a.m. on November 5 and was kept waiting for nearly two-and-a-half hours, before being taken to meet a colonel who informed him that Azad had committed suicide. While the FIR had been lodged at 11.20 a.m., Mr. Nair was informed well after 12-30 p.m.

Citing the authorities' account that Azad had gone to his friends' room early that morning to have tea , the memorandum said that the tea should have been served in his room considering the fact that he had not been well.

Mr. Soumendu also questioned the authorities' account that Azad had committed suicide due to severe stomach pain. Accusing them of attempts to cover up the incident, he said his brother had suffered from a condition called nephrotic syndrome before his teenage and not afterwards.

Azad had told a fellow cadet Digvijay Singh Kharb, who had left the OTA, that his stomach pain started after he was thrown into a swimming pool, Mr. Soumendu claimed.

Mr. Nair told The Hindu that the family wanted a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to his son's death. He said his son's last rites would be performed only after he got justice.

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