2 Haryana boys killed in two basketball pole collapse incidents
Rohtak, Nov. 27 -- In separate but similar incidents, two teenagers have died after being crushed under basketball poles in Haryana's Rohtak and Jajjar districts, police said.
On Tuesday, Hardik Rathi, a 16-year-old national-level basketball player, was practising at Rohtak's Lakhan Majra sports complex, police said. According to CCTV footage, verified by HT, Hardik appeared to dunk the basketball in the hoop, and held on to its rim when the pole, in a poor rusted condition, snapped and fell on him. Hardik's friends rushed him to a nearby hospital but he died during treatment, said Lakhan Majra police station house officer Samarjeet Singh.
"The boy's body was handed over to his family after conducting an autopsy at the Post-graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak. While the family did not lodge any complaint, a daily diary report as been made and we have started inquest proceedings," he added.
According to locals, the then Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda had released Rs.11 lakh from his MP-LAD fund for the maintenance of the stadium but the panchayati raj department officials allegedly failed to ensure its maintenance.
Haryana development and panchayat minister Krishan Lal Panwar said that a detailed probe will initiated.
Three months ago, villagers said they had met Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had assured them of maintenance of the stadium, but to no avail.
Hardik's father Sandeep Rathi, a government employee, said his son was studying in class 10. As per Hardik's family, the teenager had won several medals at national-level basketball competitions.
Reacting over the death of a national basketball player, CM Saini said that he was not aware of this incident until now. "I will gather all the details and will comment further after reviewing the matter," he told news reporters in Chandigarh.
In a similar incident in Jhajjar's Bahadurgarh, 15-year-old Aman died after a basketball pole fell on him while he was practising at the Hoshiar Singh Sports Stadium on Sunday....
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