New Delhi: Indian Army Chief Deepak Kapoor can be the first army chief in the world to retire on the basis of medical reason.

He is suffering from hearing impairment after exposure to heavy booming sound of artillery guns during a demonstration on anti-terror operation in the US in July last year.

Indian Army Chief Deepak Kapoor

As a result, the army chief has been placed in a lower medical category just four months before retirement. A lower medical category indicates partial disability and entitlement to higher pensions.

The doctor’s certificate, issued on November 23 last year, says during the army chief’s visit to the US in July 2009, “He was closely exposed to loud noise in the form of small weapons firing and gun firing during a counter-terrorism demo by US soldiers. Since then he has developed acute deafness in the left ear. He was unable to discriminate between spoken words.”

- News Agencies