PUNE: A 20-year-old student of a private maritime college in Maval taluka died on a basketball court when he clasped the metal ring of the basket to exercise and it gave way, and the post collapsed on him, cracking his skull.The accident happened around 7.30am on Sunday on premises of the college, Talegaon MIDC police said. The other students and college authorities took Vishal Verma, the victim, to Talegaon General Hospital, where he succumbed during treatment. Verma was a resident of the college hostel and hailed from Uttar Pradesh.Police sub-inspector Prashant Relekar of Talegaon MIDC police said the college authorities told them that Verma was exercising holding on to the basket and the post could not sustain the load. “We have registered a case of accidental death. Our investigations are going on,” the officer said.Vishal’s LinkedIn profile shows he hailed from Basti in Uttar Pradesh. He enrolled at a Pune-based institute in 2024, and his four-year B.Tech programme was scheduled to conclude in 2028.
