17-year-old football player found dead in mysterious circumstances

New Delhi: A 17-year-old state-level football player committed suicide in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district after being allegedly harassed by police, his family said. The family alleged that he was being implicated in a false case and harassed by the police, prompting the district authorities to order a magisterial probe into the incident. The body of the football player, a class 11 student, was found hanging from a tree in a forest area at Barghat, Balodabazar Superintendent of Police R N Dash told PTI today. The boy, a native of Kasdol, had left his home yesterday morning. The exact reason that prompted him to end his life was not immediately clear as no suicide note was found, Dash said. He said a friend of the boy had on September 15 complained to the Kasdol police, accusing the football player of thrashing him and snatching his money. A police constable was assigned the investigation. The boy's family alleged that the officer probing the complaint had demanded bribe from him to dispose the matter and that he was upset over it, Dash said. A sub-divisional officer of the police has been asked to probe the allegations and submit a report within 24 hours, he said. Following the boy's death, his family members today staged a protest alleging that harassment by police compelled the boy to take the extreme step. They kept the body outside the Kasdol police station and demanded action against the guilty. Senior administration and police officials pacified the family members and assured them of necessary action, following which they agreed to cremate the body. Meanwhile, District Collector Rajesh Singh Rana today ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. "The police constable (accused of harassing the boy) has been attached with the police lines. Besides, the sub-divisional magistrate has been asked to probe the matter and submit a report by tomorrow," Rana said. According to the collector, the boy was a state-level football player and attempting to qualify for the nationals.