Parents of trainee kabaddi player found dead at SAI hostel in Kollam seek probe
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): 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.
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.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
