15-year-old was participating in pacific school games: Probe girl’s drowning in Adelaide, says Manish Sisodia

Negi had gone to Adelaide for a football tournament

A week after a15-year-old girl studying in a government school in the capital drowned at a beach in Australia, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Sisodia has asked the Education department to look into complaints of mismanagement and carelessness on part of the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) and the sports branch, which took the students to Australia for a sporting event.

A student of Rajkiya Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in east Vinod Nagar, Class XI student Nitisha Negi had gone to Adelaide to participate in a football tournament of the Pacific School Games. On December 10, she, along with four others, had gone to the Holdfast Marina beach, where a storm drew them into deep water. While four of her friends were rescued, Negi’s body was recovered later.

“I have received a complaint about mismanagement and carelessness in taking care of students who had gone to Australia with SGFI this year. Apart from this complaint, we all are aware of the unfortunate incident that took place where a brave girl, Ms Nitisha Negi, lost her life while a few other girls were rescued safely. This is a serious matter,” Sisodia said.

Questioning the department and management team’s sensitivity towards the care and safety of budding sportspersons, especially girls on an international trip for the first time, the deputy chief minister ordered an inquiry. “The incident serves as evidence that something wrong is going on,” he said.

The Education Secretary has been directed to assign the inquiry to the competent authority, and conclude it within a month. The inquiry report along with the action taken report has to be submitted by January 19. “The inquiry should cover the incident that took place with the hockey and football players, the carelessness of the SGFI, the sports branch and others,” said Sisodia.

Officials at SGFI did not respond to calls and messages from The Indian Express. Soon after the incident, the Department of Youth Affairs, under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, had said that the Indian High Commission is extending support to her family.

“Thorough investigation is ordered,” the ministry had said. The girl’s father, Piran Singh Negi, had said, “When we had gone to Chhatrasal Stadium before the trip, we were introduced to a senior coach. They said a woman coach will also be there, but we don’t know (if one went). When the incident took place, we don’t know who was with them. My daughter did not know how to swim.”