15-year-old crushed by heavy roller at cricket camp, 2 coaches booked

Two coaches had told the summer camp participants, aged 12 to 15, to roll the pitch while they were chatting a few metres away, police said

Mumbai: A 15-year-old boy has died after coming under a heavy roller during a cricket coaching camp at Barshi in Solapur district. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide against two coaches and also booked the organisers for alleged negligence.

he deceased was identified as Viren Yogiraj Chaudhary, also known as Aarav, who had registered for a summer cricket coaching camp organised by the Barshi Tehsil Cricket Association.

The deceased was identified as Viren Yogiraj Chaudhary, also known as Aarav, who had registered for a summer cricket coaching camp organised by the Barshi Tehsil Cricket Association.

According to the FIR registered with the Barshi police, the incident occurred on the morning of May 30 at the Shiv Shakti ground, while preparations were underway for a practice session. As part of routine ground maintenance, a heavy roller was being used to flatten the playing surface.

Two coaches, identified as Vivek Dugam and Akshay Devkar, had told the summer camp participants, aged 12 to 15, to roll the pitch while they were chatting a few metres away, police said.

While boys were rolling the pitch, Aarav suddenly lost his balance and fell right in front of the roller. After coming under the heavy roller, which weighs over 1,000 kg, he suffered severe injuries and died on the spot, police said.

When contacted, police inspector Balaji Kukade from the Barshi police station said, “We have registered a case of culpable homicide against the two cricket coaches and the organising cricket association for alleged negligence, and a probe is underway.”