Indian national handball player commits suicide

Pooja Kumari was disheartened on being denied hostel room along after returning from summer break

A 20-year-old national handball player committed suicide on Saturday after college authorities denied her free hostel accommodation in India’s northern Punjab state.

Pooja Kumari was a second-year student at Khalsa College in Patiala city and hailed from an economically weaker family.

She was disheartened on being denied a hostel room along with some other girls after returning from summer break.



Kumari’s parents alleged foul play by head of physical education department, Gursharan Singh Gill.

“The college was closed for summer vacations. When the classes resumed, students told Mr Gursharan Singh Gill (head of the physical education department) that they had come to the hostel to play. But he asked them to return to their homes,” said Kumari’s father, Prabhu Chauhan.

“When students questioned him, he told them that students from wealthy families and from far off towns could only afford the hostel. But students who paid bribe to the administration are the ones who are staying there now.



“She (Pooja Kumari) was expelled from the hostel. When she came back home, she was upset about it and narrated the whole incident to me,” he added.

However, college authorities refuted the allegations and said Kumari never approached them for hostel facilities.

Police recovered two suicide notes from near the body of the deceased. One of the letters was addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking help for her family.



A case of abetment of suicide has been lodged against Gill. Further investigation is underway in the case.

Pooja, a handball player for six years, represented Punjab in the 2011-12 national games.