Thiruvananthapuram : Family members of the female athletes who attempted suicide at a sports hostel at Alappuzha in Kerala last week have come out against the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for giving a clean chit to their seniors, who had allegedly driven them to the extreme step.
Four rowing and kayaking athletes, who were undergoing training at SAI’s Water Sports Centre at Alappuzha, had attempted suicide by consuming a poisonous fruit alleging harassment from their seniors. While one, Aparna Ramabhadran (15), died the next day, the other three are slowly returning back to normal at the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital.
The SAI clean chit came in a report its director general, Injeti Srinivas, submitted to the sports ministry following his prima facie inquiry into the incident. Srinivas prepared the report after talking to a number of people, including the hoteliers, warden and other SAI officials.
In his report, the SAI chief said that his inquiry had failed to establish any “foul play” in the suicide attempt by the four teenagers. The report has ruled out any ragging or torture in the hostel being run SAI.
The relatives of the victims have rejected the report and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the incident. The Crime Branch of the Kerala police is now probing it. The mother of one of the girls undergoing treatment at Alappuzha alleged that the SAI director general was trying to protect the agency. A close relative of another girl said they would take recourse to legal measures if those who were responsible for the incident were not brought to book. Aparna’s mother had earlier stated that the incident was the result of continuous harassment by the senior girls. She said that her daughter had brought this to the notice of the SAI authorities but they had not taken any action on her complaint. She said Aparana would not have attempted suicide if the authorities had acceded to her plea to shift her from the room she shared with her alleged tormentors.
The SAI chief has not made any final conclusion in his inquiry report as the incident is now under police investigation. His report said that the girls might have attempted suicide after the hostel warden scolded them for drinking beer at a wedding reception and threatened to inform their parents.
