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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Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
