Haryana Sports Dept gives itself clean chit over two cagers’ death

The Haryana Government has transferred the Principal Secretary (Sports) and the Director General, Sports, after the death of two basketball players in Rohtak and Jhajjar, respectively, but internal investigations carried out by the department have stated that it had nothing to do with the deaths.

Aman (15) died after a basketball pole snapped in Bahadurgarh’s Shaheed Brigadier Hoshiar Singh Stadium on November 23. An inquiry conducted by the District Sports Officer (DSO), Jhajjar, Satyender Kumar, concluded that the incident had “no connection with the Sports Department”.

The report, dated November 26, submitted by Satyender Kumar to the outgoing Director General (DG), Sports, Sanjeev Verma, pointed out that the Sports Department had got a wrestling hall constructed at the Hoshiar Singh stadium and on a demand of the players, department coach Sanjay Kumar was appointed. Sanjay Kumar is a wrestling coach and a sports nursery of wrestling is being run there. “No coaching centre for basketball is being run at the stadium by the department. So, the incident has nothing to do with the department,” the report stated. The Deputy Director, Sports, Rohtak Circle, Sunita Khatri, had also endorsed that the contents in the DSO’s report were correct, vide her communication dated November 27 to the DG, Sports.

Similarly, Hardik Rathi (16), a state-level basketball player, died on November 25 while practising at a basketball court in Lakhan Majra (Rohtak) as the pole snapped. The DSO, Rohtak, Anoop Singh, was suspended following the incident on November 26.

Before his suspension, Anoop Singh had submitted in his report that the land on which the basketball court was constructed “didn’t belong to the Sports Department”.

“In addition, it is clarified that the tragedy didn’t happen at Rajiv Gandhi Khel Parisar, Lakhan Majra, nor does the basketball court come under the Sports Department,” the report said.

It was further mentioned that the department had not allotted any basketball nursery to Lakhan Majra, nor had it assigned any coach from the department.

Anoop Singh reported that the basketball court was located on land managed by the Block Samiti of Lakhan Majra and was operated by the Yuva Sports Club of the village. A person, Mohit, trained youth at the court. The Deputy Director, Sports, Rohtak Circle, notified the DG, Sports, in a letter dated November 27, that the Sports Department operated only a kabaddi nursery at Lakhan Majra.

Anoop Singh is an athletics coach and served as the DSO in Rohtak for the past three months, until his suspension.

However, while accepting responsibility on behalf of the government for the two tragedies, Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam, at a review meeting of the department on November 28, had directed officers to immediately conduct “a joint inspection of all playgrounds, stadiums and sports equipment falling under panchayats, municipal committees, municipal councils and the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran, and submit a detailed report to the headquarters”.

He made it clear that players would not be allowed to practise in any stadium or building that was found to be unsafe or dilapidated. In case of negligence, action would be taken against the DSO concerned, he said.