The four girls, all champion rowers, had alleged harassment and torture by their seniors in a joint note.
The four young Kerala athletes who consumed poisonous fruit last week in an apparent suicide pact were not harassed by their seniors as they had alleged in a suicide note, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has said in its report to the government.
The report says there is no concrete evidence of ragging and no complaint of any misbehavior by coaches. It also absolves its own officials of any role.
The four girls, all champion rowers, had alleged harassment and torture by their seniors in a joint note. Their families had supported their claim.
One of the girls died on May 6 and three are recovering in hospital; the mother of a teen who survived says she has no faith in the investigation so far. "If investigations continue in this manner, we will be forced to commit suicide collectively," she told NDTV, demanding a CBI probe.
The girls' seniors had had alleged that they had been admonished by their warden for drinking beer in the hostel and were afraid that everyone would find out.
The report by SAI director general Injeti Sriniwas appears to corroborate this version and says that the girls were reprimanded by their hostel warden for some lapse. "It seems like a one-off incident," he says, adding that "specialized investigators" are required to examine whether ragging pushed the girls over the edge.
In Parliament today, the government described the incident as "shocking and tragic" and said urgent action would be taken on the SAI report to prevent such tragedies.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the minister of state for sports, Sarbananda Sonowal, said the case reflects the need to strengthen SAI's training system.