After a video of kabaddi players serving food that was kept in a toilet went viral on social media, the Uttar Pradesh government sprang into action as it suspended the Regional Sports Officer of Saharanpur.

The district magistrate of Saharanpur has also ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary (sports) Navneet Sehgal has suspended the regional sports officer of Saharanpur, Animesh Saxena. He also blacklisted the contractor who served food in the state-level tournament.

“It has been directed that the contractor, who was given the contract for preparing and providing the food to the players be suspended,” Sehgal said. “And it has been warned that he should not be given any work in the future,” he added.

The incident happened at the Dr BR Ambedkar Stadium in Saharanpur, where the three-day Under-17 State Level Sub Junior Girls Kabaddi Championship was being organised by the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi Association.

Around 300 girls from across the state are participating in the tournament. In the viral video, the players were seen taking their share of rice and puri from a toilet where it was kept.

It was learnt that the Saharanpur district magistrate has directed an additional district magistrate (finance) to probe into the matter. He will submit the report in three days.

Meanwhile, players also complained about the quality of the food, saying that they were served undercooked rice. The players said that they complained about the matter to the sports officer, after which the rice was cooked again.

Players also alleged that they were made to stand in long queues for food. Players also alleged that the utensils in which rice was kept were spotted inside a toilet and some puri were also kept there.

Reports suggested that the Uttar Pradesh Sports Director sought clarification from Saharanpur Regional Sports Officer Saxena, but he did not respond. After which Saxena has been suspended.

Saxena, in his defence, said that construction work is going on at the stadium due to which everything is in disarray. He said that since it was raining on September 16, they had to keep the food in a toilet for some time to protect it from rain due to lack of space in the stadium.

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