The Sports Authority of India does not rule out foul play in the incident involving four girl trainees at the SAI Centre in Alappuzha in Kerala in which one of them died.
SAI Director General Injeti Srinivas, who made a one-day visit to the State for an “administrative” assessment of the shocking incident, on Saturday said he cannot comment on the circumstances that led to the suicide at this stage.
In a tragic turn of events, a young athlete Aparna Ramabhadran died and three of her colleagues were admitted to hospital in critical condition after they ate a poison fruit under an apparent suicide pact following alleged harassment by their seniors at the Water Sports Centre of the SAI in Alappuzha.
“It is possible that there was some foul play. Something did happen. But would that lead to a situation to compel the young girls to take the extreme step, that law will decide. I had gone for an administrative assessment on directives of Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. I will submit a report to the Sports Minister and he will take a call on what we need to do on our part,” Mr. Srinivas said at a press conference here after his return from Kerala.
“There was a dying declaration, suicide pact, statement taken by the police from the surviving girls and other inmates of the SAI Centre but how can I speak about the veracity of these things? This is not our job but of the law enforcement agencies.
“This is a case where multiple agencies, including police and Human Right Commission are investigating. I cannot pre-empt these investigations and judicial process,” he added.
Asked if there was harassment by the seniors as has been alleged, Mr. Srinivas said, “I have enquired with the SAI warden and spoken to the other inmates at the centre but they did not say anything about it.”
“I also visited the boys’ hostel and talked to the boys but they could not figure out what could have gone wrong. All my enquiries reveal that they could not find the reason (of suicide),” he added. -- PTI
‘A wake-up call’
Special Correspondent writes:
Mr. Srinivas said the episode was a wake-up call for the organisation which would upgrade its system, including introduction of a helpline for its trainees, to prevent any such incident in the future.
He said the remaining girls in the hostel were going through tremendous emotional trauma and would be provided the services of a counsellor. “This has to be addressed on an immediate basis. I had a very elaborate discussion with them and explained them that the whole organisation is with them. To meet the immediate requirement, we have given instructions that a psychology counsellor be immediately employed so that group counselling and individual counselling can be done.”
Besides, a proposal to introduce yoga as a mandatory activity was under consideration. “'It will contribute immensely to the physical health and emotional balance of the trainees,” he added.
