In New Delhi, Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked SAI Director-General Injeti Srinivas to rush to the Water Sports Centre of the Sports Authority of India at Punnamada near Alappuzha and submit a report at the earliest.
SAI Kerala Regional Director G. Kishore said the allegations of the relatives would be investigated.
Mr. Sonowal termed the death of the athlete as a big loss to the country. In a statement from New Delhi, he said: “I am deeply aggrieved by the incident. The young girl who has died was a very promising sportsperson. It is a big loss to the country, in general, and the SAI and the sports fraternity in particular. I convey my condolences to the bereaved family. We will give all possible help to the bereaved family.”
“At this stage, I would only like to say that if anyone from the SAI is found guilty in connection with this incident, the strictest possible action will be taken against him or her,” he said.
SAI Director-General Injeti Srinivas said it was the “most tragic incident” in the history of the organisation. “We have 257 centres and more than 10,000 trainees, but such an incident has never happened.”
He said since investigating agencies were examining the evidence, he would only be on a fact-finding mission. “It is an abnormal situation. Since it is a training centre, they don’t have any pressure of performance. It is very intriguing why the trainees took the extreme step.”
Mr. Srinivas, who visited the centre two weeks ago, said he did not find any negative issue. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has also registered a suo motu case.
(Additional reporting by Y.B. Sarangi and Anita Joshua in New Delhi)
