Condition of three SAI athletes stable

Protests at the SAI office in Kerala

Alappuzha, (Kerala) May 9 (IANS) The condition of the three Sports Authority of India (SAI) athletes who attempted suicide is improving, a doctor at the Medical College hospital here said.

Four young athletes on Wednesday had consumed a poisonous fruit on being reprimanded for consuming beer and one of them, Aparna, passed away early Thursday.

Speaking to IANS, the doctor who did not wish to be identified said that the condition of all the three girls is fairly stable now.

"They are now in the medical intensive care unit where they will be for two more days...the poisonous fruit they consumed is known to cause cardiac problems. But now since all the three have been weaned away from the pacemaker, things are under control," said the medical professional.

Top SAI official G.Kishore told IANS that the situation at the SAI Water Sports Centre in Vembanad, near here where this incident took place is slowly limping back to normal and refuted media reports that the SAI centre has been closed for a week.

"The news reports that the centre is closed for a week is baseless. The inmates had a tough time over the incident and our director general Injeti Srinivas had spoken to the athletes, coaches and the wardens. He has returned to Delhi and he will submit a detailed report to the Centre on the incident," said Kishore.

The police team led by IG of Police M.R. Ajithkumar is probing the allegations levelled by the relatives of the four athletes, that they were mentally and physically harassed by the seniors.

The senior students have denied these allegations.

SAI has given Rs.five lakhs to the family of Aparna and a job to her mother at the centre.