Parents of trainee kabaddi player found dead at SAI hostel in Kollam seek probe

Parents of two trainee kabaddi players found hanging in an SAI hostel in Kollam have demanded a thorough probe, alleging inconsistencies, distress at the facility, suspicious handling by officials, and questioning whether the teenage athletes could have died by suicide

Thiruvananthapuram: Parents of a trainee kabaddi player, who, along with another athlete, was found hanging dead at a Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Kollam, have demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.

Sandra A (18), a native of Chaliyam in Kozhikode district, and Vyshnavi V (15) of Muthakkal in Thiruvananthapuram district were found hanging in their hostel room on January 15.

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Vyshnavi’s father, Venu, on Sunday told a television news channel that the family does not believe his daughter was in a situation to take her own life and demanded a comprehensive probe.

He said that around 6 am on January 15, he received a call from the person in charge of the sports facility asking him to reach Kollam without bringing the child’s mother.

According to Venu, when he reached the SAI facility, the gatekeeper tried to lock the gate, but Venu forced his way into the compound.

“For over one hour, they did not tell me what had happened to my child. After an argument, MP N K Premachandran reached the place and allowed me inside the building. Later, the Police Commissioner also arrived and permitted me to see my daughter,” he said.

Venu said Vyshnavi had contacted him around 10.30 am the day before the incident and told him that she had won a competition and wanted money to buy Sharjah Shake.

“We transferred the money. She contacted us again later that night. My daughter would not commit suicide. I am fully confident about that,” he said.

He further alleged that Vyshnavi’s body was found on the top floor of the hostel, though she was staying in a room on a different floor.

“My wife told me that Vyshnavi had asked her not to contact the former warden, as directed by the authorities. She was told that if we contacted the former warden, she would be sent out of the facility,” he said.

Venu also claimed that a suicide note recovered from the scene mentioned that the warden “knows everything”.

He said it was not clear whether the note referred to the current warden or the previous one.

Meanwhile, Sandra’s parents, Sindhu and Ravi, told reporters on Saturday that their daughter had frequently expressed distress about staying at the SAI facility.

They alleged that Sandra often described the hostel as a jail and was desperate to return home.

SAI has not yet responded to the allegations.

However, after the incident, the government-supported sports authority said in a statement that it was cooperating with the investigation and that a probe was underway.

Kollam City Police have constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.

Police officials said statements of parents, hostel mates and schoolmates have been recorded as part of the investigation and that statements of officials at the sports facility would be recorded soon.

A detailed probe is underway to ascertain the circumstances that led to the deaths, an officer said.