'Good swimmer' drowns in Haryana sports university swimming pool; family suspicious

A 28-year-old post-graduate student allegedly drowned in a swimming pool at the Sports University of Haryana campus, with his family claiming the death is suspicious.

A 28-year-old student, pursuing a post-graduate diploma in cricket coaching, allegedly drowned in a swimming pool at the Sports University of Haryana campus in Sonipat, police said on Friday.

Nishant Gautam, said to be a ''good swimmer'', drowned in the university's swimming pool on Thursday evening.

''We received information that he died due to drowning. However, the family has said his death is suspicious and the matter be investigated thoroughly,'' a police official told reporters here.

Police said they are examining CCTV footage from the area and safety arrangements at the pool. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

Following the incident, the swimming pool area has been sealed. A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team has also inspected the site.

The university administration has constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter.

Nishant, who was married and staying at the campus hostel, was known to be a good swimmer and regularly used to dive into the pool, university officials said.

After the incident, the university staff pulled him out of the pool and rushed him to the civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the university, told reporters on Friday that the incident was extremely unfortunate.

He said Nishant was a good swimmer.

He said on Thursday evening, many athletes who returned from their training went for swimming in the pool.

The swimming coach and other staff were also present there.

When the swimming coach noticed that Nishant did not come out, he went to trace him, and the student was pulled out of the pool.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered, but he did not respond. Subsequently, he was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead, the V-C said.

''He was around 28 years old. He was pursuing a one-year PG diploma course in cricket coaching,'' he said.

The swimming pool was undergoing repair, and the works had started this week, he said.

The V-C said R P Garg, senior consultant at the university, will head the three-member committee to determine if there was lapse on anyone's part, leading to the incident.