In the village of Kabanbai Batyr, Tselinograd district, relatives of a 13-year-old boy who died during a kokpar game are demanding the reopening of a criminal case that prosecutors closed two months after it was opened, reports infohub.kz.
This was shared on Threads by the boy's relative, Zhuldyz Usenova. According to her, on May 26, 2026, her nephew Dinmukhammed left home for a kokpar training session — he was a player for the team "Zhanbobek". The game was between the teams "Karazhar" and "Zhanbobek".
According to a witness named Mergen, during the game the boy was playing by the rules of kokpar, preventing an opposing player from taking the goat carcass. At that moment, an opposing player named Sanzhar grossly violated the rules and struck the boy on the side of the head. As a result, the teenager suffered a severe head injury, fell from his horse, and later died from his injuries.
Relatives point out that the forensic examination indicates serious harm to health caused by blunt force objects, not a fall from a horse, as some participants claim.
"Who guarantees that the person who broke the rules won't take another child's life in the future? What law says it's okay to kill someone during a game?" Usenova wrote.
According to her, the district police department and the prosecutor's office of Akkol district initially opened a criminal case, finding sufficient evidence of a crime related to a person's death, but two months later closed it without explanation.
The police department of Akmola region confirmed that a criminal case was opened in May of this year.
"All necessary investigative actions were fully carried out. On July 29, the criminal case was terminated due to the absence of a criminal offense and was approved by the district prosecutor's office," police reported.
Earlier, in Shymkent, a teenager was hospitalized after a conflict near a food truck at the entrance to the city arboretum. The incident occurred on the evening of August 17.