Rusted pole, maintenance ignored: What led to basketball player's tragic death in Rohtak

ROhtak: A 16-year-old national-level basketball game participant died at Lakhan Majra hamlet in Haryana's Rohtak dominion on tues after a rusted iron pole of a basketball hoop fell on him during practice.Hardik Rathi, a national level player, was rushed to a nearby hospital by his friends in critical condition but he died during treatment, Lakhan Majra police station House officer Samarjeet Singh said.Following the incident, the locals said that the maintenance of the sports facility was long due, even though funds were already released by the local MP.“The boy’s body was handed over to his family after conducting autopsy at Post-graduate institute of medical sciences in Rohtak. A case has been registered under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita act,” he added.Also Read: National-level basketball player dies in freak Rohtak court accident, disturbing CCTV video surfacesHis father Sandeep Rathi is a government employee and the player was studying in class 10. Rathi said that he has enrolled his both sons in a nearby academy for Basketball and Hardik has recently returned from a training camp.As per the footage, Hardik was taking a lap and reaching for the hoop, appearing to practice a dunk. As he hung from the pole, the rusted iron structure collapsed and the rim of the basketball hoop struck him in the chest.As per family members, Hardik Rathi had won medals in several national-level basketball competitions, including the 47th Sub-Junior National Championship in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra, the 49th Sub-Junior National Championship in Hyderabad and the 39th Youth National Championship in Puducherry.As per locals, the then Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda had released over ₹18 lakh from his MP-LAD fund for the maintenance of the stadium, but the panchayati raj department officials failed to ensure maintenance.Also Read: Low sex ratio: Two health dept officers suspended for negligence in Sirsa & SonepatRohtak MP Deepender Hooda, while speaking on the incident, said that BJP government and administrative system are responsible for the death of two Basketball players.“ I had released ₹18.5 lakh for the maintenance of Lakhan Majra stadium, where the recent incident took place but the money was not spent by officials. Death of Hardik has exposed corruption in system and apathy of government in improving infrastructure. The BJP government has failed to improve sports infrastructure. Hardik was recently selected in Indian Basketball team and his aspirations of winning a medal for nation has been shattered,” Hooda said. Suspended Rohtak district sports officer Anoop Singh said that the sports department has released ₹2.1 crore to Public works department for the maintenance of 14 stadiums in the district but the tender process was not completed so far.Three months ago, villagers reportedly met Haryana Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini for the same and he assured them of maintenance of the stadium.Reacting over the death of a national basketball player, Haryana CM Nayab Singh 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.Haryana development and panchayat minister Krishan Lal Panwar described both the incidents as ‘unfortunate’. He said that a detailed investigation will be carried out.In a similar incident occurred in at Jhajjar’s Bahadurgarh on Sunday at Hoshiar Singh Sports Stadium, a 15-year-old player Aman was injured when a basketball pole fell on him while he was practising around 3.30 pm. He was admitted to PGIMS Rohtak and died during treatment on Monday night.Acting on Bahadurgarh incident, sports minister Gauram Gautam has suspended district sports officer on Tuesday and he called a meeting of district sports officials in Panchkula on November 28.