Pune cadet’s death: Seniors say basketball pole was not repaired despite complaints

The incident took place around 7.20 am on Sunday. While most cadets on campus were still asleep, it being a Sunday, Vishal was already on the ground. After finishing his morning training session, Vishal was heading back to Hostel No. 1, where he lived and was part of Morarji House. The basketball court falls along that route. There, he attempted a dunk, a common motion among athletes, leaping up and grabbing onto the rim.

Deceased cadet as Vishal Verma

The moment he hung from it, the base of the pole, weakened by rust, snapped under the load. The entire structure collapsed, bringing the pole down on his head.

According to the senior cadets a formal complaint had been submitted to the institute’s sports committee approximately 22 days before the accident, flagging that both basketball poles in the court were shaking and unstable. “No repairs appear to have been made,” a cadet said.

The accident spot at Tolani Maritime Institute in Pune. (Express Photo)

Senior cadets said that “students at TMI pay approximately Rs 1.5 lakh per year in the name of maintenance of establishments, which includes sports infrastructure. A four-year B.Tech degree in Marine Engineering at the institute currently costs around Rs 27 lakh. All this fee money is hard-earned money,” a senior cadet said.

Dr Sanjeet Kanungo, Principal of TMI, called the incident “highly regrettable and tragic” but denied that any complaint had been lodged about the basketball poles being unsafe. He said, “The institute is investigating what medicalcare deficiencies were witnessed and is working to improve them.”

On maintenance, Kanungo said, “A structural audit is conducted every 30 years, and while there is a regular maintenance schedule, no formal audit exists. The basketball pole involved in the accident was erected just before COVID.”

“This particular incident is an accident, and we always take priority for maintenance when a complaint is raised. This incident should not have happened, and maybe we should have more stringent methods of checking things… There was no omission from our side,” he said.