Kerala govt forms panel to probe into hammer throw incident

A three-member committee has been formed by the Kerala government to probe into the incident wherein a student suffered a serious head injury after being accidentally hit during a hammer throw at a junior athletics meet in Kottayam. "Former physical education director of Kerala University K K Venu, former athletics coach of Sports Authority of India M B Sathyanandan and Arjuna awardee V Diju are the members of the panel," a press release from the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs said on Saturday.

Apheel Johnson, who was a volunteer, was struck when one of the competitors threw the hammer, a heavy iron ball, while he was reportedly removing a javelin from one side of the stadium on Friday. A plus-one student of the St Thomas Higher Secondary School, Johnson has been in the intensive care unit of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, He was hit by the iron ball when he was reportedly removing a javelin on the other side of the ground.