Basketball tragedy: Father holds contractor, public servants responsible for player’s death; FIR filed

Rohtak: The local police have registered a first information report (FIR) in the Lakhan Majra basketball tragedy after Sandeep Rathee, father of 16-year-old national basketball player Hardik Rathee, filed a complaint holding public servants and contractor responsible for his son’s death on November 25.

Hardik lost his life after a rusted basketball pole collapsed on him while he was practising at the village stadium.

“My son was a national-level player and he used to practice at the Lakhan Majra Stadium, which is managed by the Sports and Panchayati Raj Departments. The basketball court there needed urgent repairs as its pole was rusted and in a dilapidated condition. Multiple requests were made to repair the court, but nothing was done,” the complainant stated in the FIR.

He further claimed that a grant of Rs 12.3 lakh was sanctioned under the MPLAD fund through the Executive Engineer, Panchayati Raj, in November 2023, but no work was carried out. Later, an additional grant of Rs 6.2 lakh was also received, but again, no repair work took place. Due to the deliberate negligence of the Executive Engineer (Panchayati Raj) and the District Sports Officer, Rohtak, the basketball pole collapsed on Hardik, resulting in his death on November 25, he alleged.

“The role of the contractor who installed the basketball pole in the village stadium, along with the government officials responsible for its upkeep, should be thoroughly investigated as there is a possibility that inferior-quality material was used. My son’s death occurred due to illegal and substandard work, where a low-quality pole was installed,” alleged Sandeep.

In the FIR, he further alleged that the public servants and the contractor who installed the sub-standard quality pole and failed in their duty to conduct regular inspections and timely repairs became the cause of the death and are responsible for criminal negligence.

The post-mortem examination report, as cited in the FIR, mentions “liver injury and its complications sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature”. The FIR has been registered under Section 106 of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita.

Inspector Samarjeet, SHO, Lakhan Majra police station, confirmed the registration of the FIR stating that investigation has been initiated.