Officers and jawans of 10 Sikh Light Infantry Regiment indulged in a clash following altercation during a boxing match in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
At least two senior officers and one jawan had to be taken to the Army hospital for treatment, prompting Army Chief General Bikram Singh to order a Court of Inquiry into the incident.
Informed sources said an inter-company boxing tournament of the regiment on Thursday evening took an ugly turn when an altercation over some issue between the two teams led to fisticuffs. As junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and jawans clashed, some officers tried to intervene. However, they were also bashed up.
The clash left the second-in-command of the unit, a Lieutenant Colonel-rank officer, another officer and a jawan injured. They were taken for treatment to the hospital, where the Lieutenant Colonel had to be admitted.
This was not the first time that the regiment has been involved in such an incident as on previous occasions too there have been brawls during boxing matches, they said.
The Army Chief has taken a serious view of the incident and asked a Brigadier-level officer to conduct a Court of Inquiry into the incident. Stating that the Army follows “zero tolerance” against such acts of indiscipline, Gen. Singh said he had given orders for expeditious probe into the incident. “I have given directions that the Court of Inquiry should complete its probe at the earliest and ensure that strict action is taken against the defaulting personnel,” Gen. Singh told a news agency.