Tank rams wall, soldier killed

UNFORTUNATE: The 20-year-old tank was moving at 30kmph when its lever got jammed. The driver lost control and the tank hit a wall, killing B Harish (right)

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-Driver Lost Control Of The T-90 During A Trial Run At Avadi Factory

Chennai : A 28-year-old jawan, B Harish of Arakkonam, was killed at the Combat Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadi on Friday morning when a T-90 tank he was commanding hit a garage wall. The accident occurred at 9.15am.
While Harish was declared dead at the military hospital on the CVRDE premises, driver R Senthilkumar (28) of Virudhunagar and B Prem Chand (33) of Avadi, who was in the gunner’s seat, were admitted to the government general hospital in Chennai with injuries.
Police said the three had taken the 20-year-old Russian-made tank for a trial-run at the regular track made of heavy rocks after mechanics found that its battery was holding up the power back-up. When the vehicle was passing through the garage, the left lever got stuck. The driver lost control and the tank hit against a wall, bringing it down. The tank was going at the maximum speed of 30 kmph.
“The concrete fell on Harish, who was sitting on top of the tank. DriverSenthilkumar and jawan Prem Chand suffered minor injuries,” a police officer said. The tank had been kept in CVRDE for research and development purposes.
Based on the complaint of the officer commanding, Lieutent Colonel NM Sharma, the Avadi Tank police registered a case under IPC Section 304 (ii) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against Senthilkumar.
Army sources said a tank crew comprised a driver, guide and gunner. The driver in the cockpit is assisted by a guide in the commander’s seat that juts out of the vehicle on the left side. There is no steering
wheel and the vehicle is operated by shifting the left and right levers.
The CVRDE has at least 30 tanks of many models. The tanks, kept inside 2,400 sq ft garages with 50-ft-high compound walls, are regularly taken for test-rides by the assigned drivers to keep them in condition.
The jawans also test-drive prototype vehicles produced in the CVRDE, which is the flagship laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) involved in the development of armoured fighting vehicles and tanks. The CVRDE lab aims to develop a 155mm self-propelled artillery variant of the Arjun that has been labelled Bhima (T-90). The project is in the process of a technical evaluation to procure technology for the battle-field.