Senior official of MP jiu-jitsu organisation held for abetting player's suicide

Dewas/Indore, Nov 20 (PTI) A senior official of a jiu-jitsu organisation was on Thursday arrested for allegedly mentally harassing and abetting the suicide of a 35-year-old international woman grappler in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas, police said.

Jiu-Jitsu player Rohini Kalam (35) allegedly hanged herself in her home on October 26, said Amit Solanki, in charge of Bank Note Press police station.

Based on statements from Kalam's family and technical evidence, a probe revealed that she was allegedly being mentally harassed by her coach and Madhya Pradesh Jiu-Jitsu Association president Vijendra Kharsodia and vice-president Pritam Singh Solanki, he said.

The duo were booked under section 108 (abetment to suicide) and other relevant legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in connection with the athlete's death, and Solanki was arrested, the official said.

A search has been launched for Kharsodia, he said.

Kharsodia was Kalam's coach, and she had won several awards in national and international jiu-jitsu competitions under his tutelage.

Another police officer, quoting the FIR, stated that despite Kalam undergoing surgery for a stomach tumour in June, the accused allegedly continued to harass her by calling her repeatedly and demanding that she train.

It is also alleged that the duo would not allow Kalam to participate in any competitions without their permission and would pressure her into participating against her will, he said.

Meanwhile, the Kalam family has expressed dissatisfaction with the Dewas police's investigation.

Talking to reporters, Kalam's younger sister, Roshni, said, "Only after we spoke about protesting against my sister's suicide did the police hastily register a case on Wednesday. I am completely dissatisfied with the police investigation and want the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe my sister's death." Kharsodia and Solanki interfered excessively in her sister's personal life at odd times and put undue pressure on her, she said.

She further claimed that a laptop and a pen drive are missing from her late sister's room, and her family was unaware of this. PTI HWP MAS ARU