In shocking tragedies, two national-level basketball players died in separate but similar accidents in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh and Rohtak after an iron pole of a basketball hoop fell on them.
On Sunday, 15-year-old Aman went to the basketball court on the premises of a government school in Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district for practice. He was badly injured after an iron bar fell on him. He later succumbed to his injuries at PGIMS Rohtak on Monday evening.
After Aman’s death, his family members allegedly neglected medical care at PGIMS Rohtak and claimed that the teenager’s life could have been saved, News18 reported.
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“My son’s life could have been saved – it is entirely the fault of Rohtak PGI. We were forced to run there, sent from one place to another,” Aman’s father Suresh told News18.
Aman’s brother Rinku alleged that the medical staff at the Rohtak PGI refused to treat the teenager.
“There was a delay in blood collection. We were asked to leave the hospital,” said Rinku.
A similar tragic incident in Rohtak
Two days later, another national basketball player, 16-year-old Hardik Rathi, died after a pole collapsed on his chest during practice at a stadium in Rohtak.
Tuesday’s incident in Rohtak was caught on CCTV camera.
The footage showed Hardik, who had earlier participated in the National Junior School Basketball Championship, reaching for the hoop, but as soon as he tried to hang onto it, the pole collapsed and crushed him underneath.
Other players sitting on the side of the court at the sports complex in Lakhan Majra village rushed Hardik to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, local SHO Samarjeet Singh said.
Khadak Singh, Hardik’s elder brother, said the condition of the iron rod, which he claimed was rusted, had been brought to the notice of officials several times, but nothing was done to rectify it.
Holding the state sports department and the government responsible for his brother’s death, Khadak Singh alleged that Congress MP Deepender Hooda had two plots built in the village and sanctioned them in 2023. ₹11 lakh from his MPLAD funds, but the concerned officials sat on it and did not fix the basketball stick.
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As opposition parties criticized the BJP government in Haryana over the “crumbling” sports infrastructure in the state, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini told reporters that he would first gather all the details before commenting on the matter.
Meanwhile, Haryana’s Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam said, “This is a very unfortunate incident. A talented player is no longer with us… We have suspended the District Sports Officer and the sports nursery run by the Panchayat. A thorough investigation is underway and strict action will be taken in this matter. An inquiry has been ordered.”
Sunita Khatri, Deputy Director of Rohtak Sports Division, said, “The Lakhan Majra Stadium comes under the panchayat department.”
