In freak accident, 15-year-old impaled by flying javelin in school practice session, dies

In a tragic incident from a school in Raigad, a 15-year-old student lost his life after being hit on the head by a javelin thrown by a fellow student.

The incident occurred around 12:30 pm on Wednesday at the INT English School in Purar, Mangaon taluka. The victim has been identified as Hujefa Daware.

According to the police, Hujefa was participating in training for a local-level sports competition and had thrown the javelin, which was later picked up and thrown back by another student.

Unaware that the javelin had been hurled back towards him, Hujefa bent down to tie his shoelaces, resulting in a tragic blow to his temple near his left eye.

The accident reportedly occurred during a practice session for a taluka-level sports competition.

Atul Zende, additional SP of Raigad, commented, “We have requested the CCTV footage from the school’s playground to determine how this tragic incident occurred. During our investigation, we learned that the boy was practicing when he was struck on his temple near his left eye and immediately collapsed. He was rushed to Goregaon civic hospital in Raigad, where the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.”

The complaint was filed by Bandu Pawar, a physical training (PT) teacher from Sangli, who was overseeing the volleyball competition at the school playground during the sports event.

He stated, “Taluka-level outdoor sports competitions were taking place on the school grounds, and I was assigned as the umpire for the volleyball match. Suddenly, chaos erupted as news spread that a boy had been hit by a javelin during a practice session. I rushed to the scene and found that the student, Hujefa Daware, had suffered a severe injury to his temple. It appears that the students had not obtained permission from the school authorities to practice javelin throwing.”

Zende added, “Initially, we have registered a case of accidental death under Section 147 of the Criminal Procedure Code to determine if the boy’s death raises any reasonable suspicions.” The police have obtained CCTV footage from the school playground to investigate if foul play was involved.

Zende further explained that once they identify the student who threw the javelin that struck Daware’s temple, causing the fatal injury, they would question the student in the presence of their parents to ascertain if any wrongdoing had taken place.

When contacted, Somnath Gharge, Raigad SP, stated, “Since we have initially registered this as an accidental death case, I cannot provide any further comments at this time. The matter is currently under investigation.”