A military officer who was undergoing parachute training was found dead in a field close to a factory in Bankura’s Borjora on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses said the young officer’s body was still tied up in his parachute equipment when he was found in the field.

“Farmers who found the body immediately informed police about the matter,” said a source.

The police reached the spot and took him to the nearby Borjora super-speciality hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Later, the body was shifted to Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

During the inquest, the police found an identity card from the officer’s uniform. He was identified as Chandraka Govind, 31, a resident of Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh.

The police contacted the nearest air force base inPanagarh in West Burdwan. Air force officers arrived at the hospital and identified the body.

A PTI report from Delhi said Govind belonged to the Indian Navy’s elite special forces called Marine Commando Force (Marcos). He died while carrying out a para jump from an aircraft, added PTI.

Sources in the air force base at Panagarh said Govind was undergoing parachute training and had taken off from the base early morning on Wednesday.

However, communication between him and the air force base was lost suddenly during the training. The air force officers said they had launched a search for the missing person and later received information from the police that he had been found in the neighbouring Bankura district.

The air distance between Borjora and Panagarh is around 15km.

The air force authorities said Govind’s family at Vizianagaram had been informed about the accident. The air force officers said the fatal incident might have been caused by a technical glitch in the parachute.

The police said they had registered a case of unnatural death and were investigating whether Govind’s death had been caused by a mechanical failure of the parachute or any other reason.