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Centre may form expert panel to review SAI tragedy

A day after the death of a promising athlete at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Kerala's Alappuzha district shocked the nation, a rattled sports ministry is contemplating constituting an expert committee consisting of former athletes, sports experts, doctors and sports psychologists to look into the reasons that forced Aparna Ramabhadram and three others to commit suicide.

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A day after the death of a promising athlete at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Kerala's Alappuzha district shocked the nation, a rattled sports ministry is contemplating constituting an expert committee consisting of former athletes, sports experts, doctors and sports psychologists to look into the reasons that forced Aparna Ramabhadram and three others to commit suicide.

A source in the ministry told dna that "a proper inquiry would be launched and strictest possible action would be taken against any SAI official found responsible for the plight of the teenage girls".

SAI has taken of dna's report (May 8) highlighting the absence of sexual harassment redressal cells in any of the 100 SAI centres across India.

"The suggestions made by this committee will be implemented in SAI centres as well as at national camps," an official told dna on Friday.

Another important decision taken at the meeting, chaired by Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal, was to conduct surprise checks at SAI centres and get feedback from athletes put up there.

"It is important to reassure all players staying in different SAI centres that the government is sensitive towards the problems faced by them. We will instruct sports psychologists to engage in one-on-one sessions with the wards," the source added.

Not just this, SAI will also seek independent feedback from external agencies hired for the same.

Even though the steps suggested by the ministry are welcome, the ground reality is very different. According to Dr PMS Chandran, who has served in SAI for four decades, it would not be easy to implement these plans. "SAI has only one or two sports psychologists and you can't expect them to be present everywhere. Secondly, no one in India wants to join this profession because of the lack of incentives," the veteran doctor observed.

Chandran has suggested that SAI hire foreign sports psychologists who can later be used to train the home-grown ones.

Medical board constituted
The sports ministry has constituted a medical board to probe the tragic death of 15-year-old rowing champion Aparna Ramabhadran. SAI also has offered a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased athlete.

SAI director-general Injeti Srinivas, who visited the grieving parents, also offered a government job to a member of Aparna's family. The three girls undergoing treatment were given Rs 25,000 each and also assured the best possible medical facilities.

While preliminary investigations have hinted at alleged harassment by seniors as the trigger for the suicide bid by the four junior athletes, the so-called seniors have denied the allegations.

"They are saying that we harassed them. Nobody ragged or harassed them. Why are we being dragged into all this?" said 23-year-old Diti Varghese, a hostelite at the SAI centre in Alappuzha.

Another athlete, Shanthi, also denied her involvement. "This (allegation) hurts us. We have families too. We are not involved. We do not know why such allegations have been made?"

"We were having a party to celebrate our National Games medal and these girls were drinking in their room," said Varghese.

According to local media reports in Kerala, the name of a coach has figured in the suicide note, but it could not be independently verified. Paulose P Thomas, a former athlete who has represented India at the Olympic Games, had pulled up the trainees for partying in the hostel and had threatened to inform their parents. The coach was stationed at the SAI centre as the chief trainer of the rowing team.

According to Rowing Federation of India (RFI) sources, the association had submitted a negative report on Thomas to the SAI Regional Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and had requested it not to appoint him trainer in Alappuzha.

The matter was also raised in the Rajya Sabha on Friday by Congress MP Pramod Tiwari.

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