Parents seek probe into deaths of teenage girls at Kerala sports hostel

The families of two young athletes found hanging at a Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Kollam have sought a comprehensive investigation into the incident, raising serious concerns about the circumstances leading to the deaths and the functioning of the residential sports facility.

The deceased have been identified as Sandra A (18) , a native of Chaliyam in Kozhikode district, and Vyshnavi V (15) from Muthakkal in Thiruvananthapuram district. Both were trainee athletes staying at the SAI hostel near the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Kollam.

The bodies were discovered on the morning of January 15 , after the girls failed to report for their scheduled training session. Hostel staff reportedly broke open the locked room and found them hanging from ceiling fans. Police said initial findings suggest suicide, and handwritten notes seeking forgiveness from parents were recovered from the scene. However, the families have strongly disputed this conclusion.

Vyshnavi’s father, Venu , said his daughter was cheerful and spoke to the family several times on January 14, including a call around 10.30 am after she won a competition and requested money for a small treat. “She called again later that night. There was no sign of distress. My daughter would not take such a step,” he said.

Venu alleged that he was asked to reach the hostel alone, without bringing Vyshnavi’s mother, and was kept waiting for over an hour without being informed about his child. He also questioned why Vyshnavi’s body was found on the top floor when she was staying on another floor. According to him, a note recovered from the room mentioned that the warden “knows everything”, though it remains unclear whether it referred to the present or former warden.

Sandra’s parents, Sindhu and Ravi , said their daughter had repeatedly expressed unhappiness about staying at the hostel and often described the environment as restrictive. They said she was desperate to return home and had conveyed her distress on multiple occasions.

Following the incident, the Kollam City Police constituted a six member Special Investigation Team to probe the case. Police officials said statements from parents, hostel inmates, schoolmates and others have been recorded, while statements of officials at the sports facility will be taken soon. Mobile phones and other material evidence are also being examined as part of the investigation.

The Sports Authority of India has stated that it is cooperating fully with the police probe and that an internal inquiry is underway. However, it has not responded directly to the allegations raised by the parents.