A 22-year-old Agniveer allegedly shot himself dead with his service rifle while on sentry duty at the Agra air force station late on Tuesday night, it was revealed on Friday.

The news comes a day after the Congress flagged increasing suicides among recruits under the Agnipath scheme, asked whether Agniveers were being trained to be “mentally strong”, and questioned the compensation paid to the family of a slain Agniveer.

Fuelling the growing controversy over the short-term military recruitment scheme, which the Opposition wants scrapped, two former navy chiefs have queried the combat efficiency of Agniveers.

The deceased in Tuesday’s incident has been identified as Srikant Kumar Chaudhary, a resident of Ballia in Uttar Pradesh who had joined the air force in 2022.

Sources in Agra police said Srikant appeared to have been depressed after being denied leave because of a lack of manpower at the IAF station.

“A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain what led to Srikant’s death,” the IAF spokesperson, Wing Commander Ashish Moghe, said.

A police officer in Agra said: “His elder brother arrived in Agra on Wednesday to complete the paperwork, after which the body was handed over to him."

The police officer added: “Srikant was cremated at his village, Narayanpur, on Thursday evening with a guard of honour by air force personnel.”

In a post on X, Major General Yash Mor (retd) said: “The ground reality of the life of an agniveer in barracks needs urgent attention. They are unhappy, ridiculed often and not very sure of their future. With just 30 days leave in a year, it’s a very difficult life to be atthe bottom of any hierarchical organisation.”

The Opposition accuses the Narendra Modi government of having railroaded the Agnipath legislation without adequate consultations with stakeholders. The Congress on Thursday demanded a white paper on the scheme.

Two former navy chiefs, Admiral K.B. Singh and Admiral Arun Prakash, had earlier this week said the “barely trained (Agnipath) recruits, fit only for sentry duties” would “degrade the combat effectiveness” of the military.

Under the Agnipath scheme, launched in June 2022, soldiers known as Agniveers are recruited to the army, air force and the navy on four-year contracts, after which 75 per cent of themare to be demobilised. They are not entitled to gratuityor pension.

The remaining 25 per cent, chosen on the basis of merit and organisational requirements, are to be retained in the regular cadre.

Before the scheme, a fit general-duty soldier served 15 to 18 years.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, this week accused the government of having created two types of jawans -- those who would receive pension after retirement and those who wouldn’t.