4 teen girls attempt suicide at Kerala sports centre, one dies
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/NEW DELHI: A young athlete died and her three teenaged room-mates were battling for life in an apparent suicide pact at a governmentrun facility in Kerala, police said Thursday, the latest controversy to rock the country’s sports administration.
With the preliminary investigation hinting at ragging as the trigger for the suicide bid at the hostel of the Sports Authority of India’s water-training centre in Alappuzha, the union sports ministry has ordered a probe.
The girls were found unconscious in their room Wednesday night and taken to the hospital. Aparna Ramachandran, 15, died early Thursday, police said. One of the hospitalised girls won a gold at the recent National Games.
“I am deeply aggrieved by the incident in Kerala… If anyone from Sports Authority of India is found guilty, strictest possible action will be taken,” sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal told reporters in Delhi.
The SAI described the inci- dent as the “worst” in its history. In 2014, the country’s top sports body was hit by a scandal when gymnasts training for the Incheon Asian Games had accused a coach of sexual harassment.
Alappuzha Medical College authorities said the girls – undergoing training in kayaking and canoeing -- ate a poisonous fruit cerbera odollam. Its plant is often referred to as the “suicide tree” due to its toxicity.
A suicide note allegedly signed by them said their “small mistakes” were blown up by the seniors, police said.
Family-members of Aparna said the girls were “under pressure”. “They were physically and mentally harassed. Aparna suffered injuries when the coach thrashed her with an oar,” a family-member said.
The girls’ parents had complained about the harassment, another of Aparna’s relative, K Brawen, said.
“Those who complained were punished more,” he said. Aparna came from a humble family. Her father was a part-time cook with a houseboat, he said.
Late in the evening, the medical college said in a statement that the condition of the one of the girls remained highly critical.
The hostel warden, however, said the girls were caught drinking. Coach Paulose P Thomas pulled up the trainees for partying in the hostel and had threatened to inform their parents, SAI sources said. They might have taken the “extreme step” fearing further action, hostel warden K Ragini said.
The SAI centre at Alappuzha has 62 students and offers training in rowing, kayaking and canoeing.