Was suicide-bid jockey involved in racing scam?

Club Stewards had questioned Prabhu Naidu

Club Stewards had questioned Prabhu Naidu

The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) got a shock yesterday when apprentice jockey Prabhu Naidu from Narendra Lagad's stable allegedly attempted suicide in his quarters at the Mahalaxmi racecourse.

WINNER TAKES ALL: Jockey P Naidu and trainer N Lagad.

On Thursday, RWITC stewards had questioned Naidu over an alleged racing related malpractice.

Said Lagad, "My staff informed me that Naidu had tried to hang himself and we rushed to the spot."

Naidu was taken to Breach Candy Hos-pital. He is now out of danger.

"He is a good boy. I will ascertain details of the case, once I talk to him. I do not blame anyone, the club has to do what it has to do," he said.

When MiD DAY tried to talk to Naidu and his father who was at his bedside yesterday evening, stipendiary steward Avinash Naidu disallowed it.

"He cannot comment, as he is yet to give a statement to the cops," he said.

Lawyer Satish Maneshinde said, "People who abetted this attempt to commit suicide should be held responsible.

Instead of conducting an internal inquiry, the club should have handed over the matter to the police early."

False Charge

Vivek Jain, chairman of the RWITC stewards said: Certain motivated and interested elements, who wish to politicise anything and everything that goes on at the RWITC are alleging, I gather, that interrogation by the stipendiary stewards was responsible for an apprentice jockey's attempted suicide on Friday morning.

I wish to vehemently deny this false, baseless and motivated charge.

The enquiry has not even been tabled before the stewards. The Stipes conducted a very brief preliminary enquiry with the jockey on Thursday and he was asked to be present for further questioning on Friday.

The enquiry had been barely initiated so the question of putting pressure on the boy is completely without fact and being done u00a0with the sole purpose of discrediting the Stipes or the Senior Stipe for reasons beyond merit.

Jockeys and trainers are routinely grilled as part of enquiries, which are always conducted with decorum.

The Club has access to vigilance officers but in this case they were not even called as the enquiry was still at a nascent stage.

The Stipendiary Stewards have to, in the conduct of fair racing, take all steps necessary to bring offenders to book and that is their job.

However to blame them or an individual for the jockey's action is in very poor taste and should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves.

With inputs by Prakash Gosavi