Sk Imdad Ali (top) of Kurang village near Phulnakhra fainted while taking part in a fitness test for constable recruitment. He was rushed to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he was declared brought dead. His death sparked off tension in the area with over 2,000 aspirants of the test alleging neglect on part of the authorities. They blocked the road near Nalco Square and damaged public property. A minor scuffle also broke out in which six protesters and one policemen were injured. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 20: The rigours of physical tests for constable recruitment today claimed the life of a young man at the 7th Orissa State Armed Police Battalion grounds here.

Sk Imdad Ali of Kurang village near Phulnakhra fainted while taking part in the 1.6km run in the gruelling heat around 10.30am at the battalion grounds as part of the physical tests. He was rushed to Capital Hospital about half an hour later, but was declared brought dead.

The death sparked protests with around 2,000 aspirants, who had gathered at the venue for the tests, blocking the road near Nalco Square for about half an hour. Police had to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. Six protesters and one policemen sustained minor injuries in the scuffle.

Though Imdad appears to have died of exhaustion, doctors at the hospital refused to confirm the cause of death saying they would wait for the post-mortem report. However, additional commissioner of police Rekha Lohani, who was in charge of the recruitment drive, said Imdad might have had cardiac problems and could have died of that.

However, the deceased’s family members said he did not have any cardiac problems and had taken part in such recruitment drives in the past. They alleged neglect on part of the authorities conducting the test.

“If he had any cardiac problem, he would not have taken part in the drive. It was sheer neglect on part of those conducting the tests. They had not kept even the first aid facilities handy,” said Kudrat Ali, Imdad’s younger brother.

Sheikh Sultan, another aspirant taking part in the physical tests, backed the family’s claim saying there was neither doctor at the test venue nor any first-aid facility. “There were even no vehicles at the spot to rush him to hospital. He was taken to hospital in a police jeep about half-an-hour after he fell unconscious,” said Sultan.

Some aspirants also alleged that when they brought an unconscious Imdad, son of retired constable Shaukat Ali, before Lohani, she took the matter casually and made no attempt to send him to hospital. He was sent to Capital Hospital about half-an-hour later.

However, Lohani denied the allegation and claimed that a team of doctors inspected him. “I was present there. He was shifted to the hospital for better treatment, but died there,” she said.

Following the incident, the recruitment tests of 407 constables in the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police commissionerate was suspended for about two hours. The recruitment drive includes a written test, interviews and physical tests such as running, long jump, high jump, swimming and cross country race. These have been continuing since October 15. More than 7,000 applicants have applied for these posts.

In a similar incident in Balangir, Jyoti Ranjan Panda, a 24-year-old youth from Titlagarh area, fractured his leg while taking a rope-climbing test during the recruitment of constables at the Manoharpur reserve police ground in the town.

Panda, who fell down while taking the test, was rushed to the district headquarters hospital after being given first aid at the police hospital. The doctors here referred him to the VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla.

Additional reporting by Sudeep Guru in Balangir