Chhattisgarh: Kabaddi player dies after injury during match; 3rd such death since October
Jashpur (PTI): A 28-year-old kabaddi player, who suffered serious injuries during a match in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district in October, has died during treatment in a private hospital, officials said on Thursday.
Samaru Kerketta, who suffered injuries during a kabaddi match held in Sundhru village of Jashpur on October 17, died on Wednesday afternoon, a district administration official said.
He is the third player to have died, since October, after participating in the kabaddi matches held as a part of the Chhattisgarhiya Olympics, an event being hosted by the state government.
Kerketta, a native of Ghumra village in Jashpur, had suffered a serious spinal cord injury. He was initially taken to the Tapkara Primary Health Centre located near the event venue. He was then referred to the Jindal Hospital in the neighbouring Raigarh district, where he succumbed after nearly a month-long treatment, the official said.
"The player was being treated for quadriplegia cervical spine injury and kept on ventilator support. Despite all the efforts made by doctors, he could not be saved," the official added.
Jashpur Collector Ravi Mittal said that the district administration will extend every possible assistance to the family of the deceased.
On October 15, a woman Kabbadi player who had suffered injuries during a match held as part of the Chhattisgarhiya Olympics in Kondagaon district died at a hospital in Raipur.
Besides, a 32-year-old man who was critically injured during a match in Raigarh district died on October 11.
The state government had organised the Chhattisgarhiya Olympics from October 6, 2022 to January 6, 2023 with an aim to promote local sports.
There is no age limit for the participants.
Apart from traditional sports like Pittul, Kho-Kho and kabaddi, the grand event will also see contests in games like cricket, volleyball and hockey at four levels - village panchayat, development block, district and state.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
