3 min readPuneApr 7, 2026 05:19 AM IST
First published on: Apr 7, 2026 at 05:13 AM IST
A 20-year-old cadet at Tolani Maritime Institute (TMI) in Pune died on Sunday morning after the rim of a basketball hoop collapsed on his head while he was hanging from it. The deceased, Vishal Verma, a native of Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh, was a national-level athlete and one of the most decorated cadets on campus.
According to cadets on campus, prior complaints had been made about the basketball pole that killed him. Also the ambulance did not respond for nearly 30 minutes, raising the question of whether his death could have been prevented.
The Induri police station’s investigating officer, Prashant Relekar, said, “Statements are being recorded from witnesses, and the absence of CCTV at the basketball court is complicating the investigation. An FIR is yet to be filed as Vishal’s parents are in Uttar Pradesh.”
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.
The accident spot at Tolani Maritime Institute in Pune. (Express Photo) 
Deceased cadet as Vishal Verma
The accident spot at Tolani Maritime Institute in 
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