Kerala seeks inquiry into death of cycle polo player in Nagpur hospital

Ambalappuzha/Mumbai: Kerala has written a letter to the Maharashtra government to conduct a thorough inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old sportsperson in Nagpur, state Sports Minister V Abdurahiman said on Friday.

Nida Fathima, a 10-year-old student of the SDV Government Upper Primary School at Neerkunnam, near Ambalappuzha, in Alappuzha district, died at a private hospital in Nagpur on Thursday morning. She was part of the Kerala team that went to Maharashtra to participate in the National Cycle Polo Championship.

"We have written a mail to the Maharashtra Chief Minister and sports minister to conduct a thorough inquiry into the sad demise of the minor. Alappuzha collector has also spoken to his counterpart in Nagpur," he told reporters after visiting Nida's house.

"There are two associations. Nida and the rest of the team participated in the championship after their entry was cleared by a court order. Was there any medical negligence that has to be inquired into by Maharashtra police," he added.

According to the team contingent, Nida walked to the Srikrishna hospital, which is only 100 metres away from where they were staying, along with coach Jithin and a senior female member of the team on Thursday. But she collapsed soon after she was administered an injection. Though she was admitted to the intensive care unit immediately, she could not be saved.

The Kerala team stayed at the office of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). All 29 members of the team had consumed the food bought from outside but no one except Nida developed any uneasiness, the coach said.

Her body was shifted to Nagpur Medical College. The postmortem is scheduled for Friday.

 

Hospital's claim

Nida vomited several times on Wednesday night and was given medicines by the nurses on the team. Treatment was sought at the hospital before heading out to the ground on Thursday morning. The death was caused due to an allergic reaction to the injection, the hospital authorities claimed.

 

Father's predicament

Nida was the daughter of Shihabuddin and Ansila. Shihabuddin came to know about her death from the TV news while at the airport on his way to Nagpur after being informed that his daughter was in the hospital.

Nida's brother Mohammed Nabeen is a Class 3 student.

 

Why was proper accommodation denied?

• There are two cycle polo associations in Kerala, based out of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
• Nida had arrived in Nagpur representing the association in Thiruvananthapuram.
• This association managed to arrive in Nagpur to take part in the event after securing a court order.
• As it was not recognised by the Cycle Polo Federation of India, the team members, including Nida, were denied better food and accommodation facilities that were extended to recognised teams.