A Haryana kabaddi player, Naveen, was stabbed to death on Sunday night, allegedly by his team mate Sumit Sangwan after a fight broke out between them in their dormitory at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai.

The players, who hail from Bursham village near Panipat, had gone to Chennai to participate in the all-India inter-SAI Sports Hostel kabaddi tournament, which was to start on Monday morning. Team coach Balwan Singh told The Indian Express that the fight had started over who would sleep near a pedestal fan in the dormitory where they had been put up.

“After having dinner at around 10 pm, Sumit, Naveen, and another team mate Narender had an argument over who would sleep near a pedestal fan provided in the room,” coach Balwan said.

“Narender walked away from the fight, but Naveen and Sumit continued their argument even as other players tried to calm them down. After a while, Sumit appeared with a knife from his bag and stabbed Naveen in a fit of rage,” he added. Naveen was rushed to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. After evaluating the nature of wounds, the doctors on duty informed the local police station about the case.

Naveen’s parents reached Chennai on Monday to bring back their son’s body after the post mortem on Tuesday morning. Sangwan fled the scene immediately after the incident, police said. When contacted, a senior SAI official in Delhi said: “We can’t say anything at this juncture because the local police are looking into the incident.” SAI later barred the North Zone team for taking part in the event.

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