A 16-year-old girl athlete died on Thursday and three of her colleagues
were battling for survival after they consumed a poisonous fruit in what
appears to have been a suicide pact at a water sports facility run by
the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Kerala.
Police in Alappuzha said they have recovered a “note signed by the four” which says they were committing suicide after being “scolded” by their seniors for a “silly fault”.
The dead athlete was identified as Aparna Ramabhadra, from Aryad in Alappuzha, who had participated as a rower in several national competitions. The other three, all 16 years olds, have been identified as Treesa Jacob, Sabitha Santosh and Shilpa K R. Treesa who won gold in kayaking at the recently-held National Games in Kerala.
Police said all four were undergoing training at the SAI Water Sports Centre in Alappuzha, and were hospitalised on Wednesday night —Aparna died on Thursday.
A relative of Aparna alleged that the athletes committed suicide after they were “tortured” by their coaches, but the charge was denied by SAI and police.
Alappuzha SP K K Balachandran said investigations have revealed that the “silly fault” referred to in the “note” was an incident last week in which the four had allegedly consumed beer. “A few seniors, all women athletes, had taunted them. This seems to have prompted the athletes to consume the poisonous fruit, locally known as othalanga. There was no case of torture from any quarters as alleged by the girls’ relatives and others,’’ said Balachandran.
Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said he had directed SAI’s director-general Injeti Srinivas to “rush to the spot” and submit a “factual report”. “If anyone from SAI is found guilty in connection with this tragic incident, strictest possible action will be taken,” Sonowal said.
Srinivas termed the incident as the “most shocking… in the history of SAI” and said he would submit his report to the Sports Minister “in a day”. He added that he had not received “any negative feedback about any of the SAI employees” when he visited the Alappuzha centre a fortnight ago.
”We are faced with the most tragic and shocking incident of four girl trainees attempting suicide. Unfortunately, one of them succumbed to the poisonous substance. It is the most shocking incident in the history of SAI. Now, the immediate focus is on ensuring that the best possible medical attention is given to the three girls,” Srinivas said.
The Kerala government, meanwhile, ordered its Sports Secretary K Shivashanker to probe the incident, apart from an investigation by police which have registered a case of unnatural death. The victims would be treated at government cost, a statement said.
When asked about the “silly fault” mentioned in the note, SAI’s Alappuzha centre in-charge Ragini said one of the four had told their seniors that they had consumed beer. “A senior informed the hostel warden who scolded the girls. That happened last Saturday and it was over. We have not come across any incident of torture from seniors or coaches,’’ said Ragini.
”The girls had appeared very happy yesterday evening. One of them had come to the SAI office in the evening to send her bio-data to the organisers of an upcoming national event. They had also helped the warden and others carry provisions and grocery to the kitchen. Later in the evening, when one of them started vomiting, we sought the reason, but they did not tell us anything. Later, they were rushed to hospital,” she added.
Aparna’s relative Praveen alleged that the athletes were tortured by the coaches and that the rower was beaten by a coach using an oar.
But the centre’s in-charge termed the allegations as “baseless”. “If any such incident had happened, they could have informed us at anytime. But so far, we have not come across any incident of torture. When one of the girls started vomiting, her father had come to the centre. Even then, she told her parent that she was all right,’’ she said.
The SAI centre in Alappuzha —- home of the popular annual snake boat race — currently has 67 athletes undergoing training in kayaking, canoeing and rowing. All the four athletes involved in the incident were undergoing training for last three years in the centre.
- Indian Express
Police in Alappuzha said they have recovered a “note signed by the four” which says they were committing suicide after being “scolded” by their seniors for a “silly fault”.
The dead athlete was identified as Aparna Ramabhadra, from Aryad in Alappuzha, who had participated as a rower in several national competitions. The other three, all 16 years olds, have been identified as Treesa Jacob, Sabitha Santosh and Shilpa K R. Treesa who won gold in kayaking at the recently-held National Games in Kerala.
Police said all four were undergoing training at the SAI Water Sports Centre in Alappuzha, and were hospitalised on Wednesday night —Aparna died on Thursday.
A relative of Aparna alleged that the athletes committed suicide after they were “tortured” by their coaches, but the charge was denied by SAI and police.
Alappuzha SP K K Balachandran said investigations have revealed that the “silly fault” referred to in the “note” was an incident last week in which the four had allegedly consumed beer. “A few seniors, all women athletes, had taunted them. This seems to have prompted the athletes to consume the poisonous fruit, locally known as othalanga. There was no case of torture from any quarters as alleged by the girls’ relatives and others,’’ said Balachandran.
Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said he had directed SAI’s director-general Injeti Srinivas to “rush to the spot” and submit a “factual report”. “If anyone from SAI is found guilty in connection with this tragic incident, strictest possible action will be taken,” Sonowal said.
Srinivas termed the incident as the “most shocking… in the history of SAI” and said he would submit his report to the Sports Minister “in a day”. He added that he had not received “any negative feedback about any of the SAI employees” when he visited the Alappuzha centre a fortnight ago.
”We are faced with the most tragic and shocking incident of four girl trainees attempting suicide. Unfortunately, one of them succumbed to the poisonous substance. It is the most shocking incident in the history of SAI. Now, the immediate focus is on ensuring that the best possible medical attention is given to the three girls,” Srinivas said.
The Kerala government, meanwhile, ordered its Sports Secretary K Shivashanker to probe the incident, apart from an investigation by police which have registered a case of unnatural death. The victims would be treated at government cost, a statement said.
When asked about the “silly fault” mentioned in the note, SAI’s Alappuzha centre in-charge Ragini said one of the four had told their seniors that they had consumed beer. “A senior informed the hostel warden who scolded the girls. That happened last Saturday and it was over. We have not come across any incident of torture from seniors or coaches,’’ said Ragini.
”The girls had appeared very happy yesterday evening. One of them had come to the SAI office in the evening to send her bio-data to the organisers of an upcoming national event. They had also helped the warden and others carry provisions and grocery to the kitchen. Later in the evening, when one of them started vomiting, we sought the reason, but they did not tell us anything. Later, they were rushed to hospital,” she added.
Aparna’s relative Praveen alleged that the athletes were tortured by the coaches and that the rower was beaten by a coach using an oar.
But the centre’s in-charge termed the allegations as “baseless”. “If any such incident had happened, they could have informed us at anytime. But so far, we have not come across any incident of torture. When one of the girls started vomiting, her father had come to the centre. Even then, she told her parent that she was all right,’’ she said.
The SAI centre in Alappuzha —- home of the popular annual snake boat race — currently has 67 athletes undergoing training in kayaking, canoeing and rowing. All the four athletes involved in the incident were undergoing training for last three years in the centre.
- Indian Express
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