'Hostel more like prison'; Family alleges foul play, details from Sandra's last phone conversation out

KOZHIKODE: The family of one of the girls found dead inside the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel room in Kollam raised suspicion about the incident. Sandra (18), daughter of Ravi and Sindhu of Kadalundi, Kozhikode, and Vaishnavi (15), daughter of Venu and Anisha of Chempoor, Thiruvananthapuram, were found dead in their hostel room on Thursday morning. Sandra’s family have now come up with an allegation.

According to the family, Sandra called her home a day before the incident and told them how her hostel was akin to a jail, and she was facing serious difficulties continuing her stay there. Sandra was on good terms with the previous warden. However, a month ago, he was transferred, and a new one took charge. SAI in charge Rajiv, even warned her not to contact the old warden. He threatened to expel her if she disobeyed.

The family also demanded an impartial investigation to clear the mystery of the incident.

Meanwhile, Kollam East police said they will intensify the investigation after receiving the postmortem reports of the two students. The parents have requested an investigation in their statement to the police. Sandra's body was kept for public viewing at Kollam school after the postmortem at Paripally Medical College Hospital yesterday. Her body was cremated at the Kadalundi crematorium at 10:30 pm.

Vaishnavi's funeral was held on Thursday. A six-member special team led by Kollam East Inspector Pushpa Kumar was appointed to investigate the incident under the supervision of Kollam ACP S Sherif.