Lithara’s family members levelled allegations against her coach, Ravi Singh, saying she was mentally harassed repeatedly by himÂ
Kerala basketball player Lithara committed suicide at her flat in Patna on April 26th, 2022. Her family members levelled allegations against her coach, Ravi Singh, saying she was mentally harassed repeatedly by him due to which she had skipped training sessions and matches.
Meanwhile, her friends and teammates are in complete shock after learning that she was discovered hanging in her Patna flat. Police personnel at Patna’s Rajiv Nagar station have already filed a FIR and begun an investigation.Â
Lithara was a member of the Kerala team that won the 32nd Federation Cup national basketball championship in May 2018, defeating Tamil Nadu 66-50 in the final in Andhra Pradesh.
She also helped Calicut University win a historic All-India inter-university title in Chennai the same year, defeating Bharathiar University. Â
“I cannot believe what has happened. Lithara was someone with great willpower. I have never seen her cry. She was good at crisis management and was the one consoling her teammates in defeats, “said Antony PC, who coached her at Irinjalakuda’s St Joseph’s College, then at Calicut University and the Kerala state teams.Â
Lithara began her basketball career at Kannur Sports Division before moving on to state and university competitions. She had previously performed as a guest for Kerala Police, but due to financial problems, she was forced to take a job with East Central Railways.
She moved to Patna to support her cancer-stricken mother and father, effectively taking a break from her athletic career.Â
Lithara’s family claims that she had a strained relationship with her former instructor, and that Ravi Singh harassed her by bringing it up. They further added that Singh allegedly grabbed her hand during a competition in Kolkata, and she thrashed him for it.
Later, the coach filed a complaint against Lithara with the Railways, following which she was barred from coming for coaching sessions.Â
 Lithara’s uncle, Rajeevan, said that Lithara’s acquaintance in Bengaluru notified him on April 26 morning that she had attempted suicide. He called us again and informed us that she had been certified dead.
They left towards Bihar, instructing the appropriate authorities to conduct a post-mortem once they were there. Her post-mortem had already ended by the time they arrived, despite their request.
According to the autopsy report, her death was caused by a shawl entangled around her neck. The family members, on the other hand, sought a re-autopsy and a thorough investigation into the case.Â
“We had given a statement to the local police there. Her colleagues there gave us a very negative impression of her coach. Lithara too had said the same while she had spoken to her family earlier. Her coach had tried to physically assault her once, but she retaliated.
The day before her death, she had spoken to her parents for about 1.46 minutes, “added Lithara’s uncle.”Â
 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanded a thorough investigation into the situation on Friday and wrote to his counterpart, Nitish Kumar, requesting his involvement.
Vijayan asked Kumar to give orders to the officers in charge of conducting a “full and fair” probe into the matter so that her relatives in the state might be relieved of their fears. Â
Published By: Sachin Soanwane
