Her younger sister, Roshni, discovered her hanging in her room and immediately alerted the family. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead.
International jujitsu player Rohini Kalam, 35, was found dead at her family home in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday. Police say preliminary findings suggest she died by suicide.
According to reports, the incident took place at her residence in Arjun Nagar, Radhaganj, where Rohini lived with her parents and siblings.
Her younger sister, Roshni, discovered her hanging in her room and immediately alerted the family. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead.
At the time, Rohini’s mother was at a temple with another daughter, while her father — a retired Bank Note Press employee — was away from home. Police said no suicide note was found at the scene.
According to Roshni’s statement to investigators, Rohini, who worked as a martial arts coach at a private school in Ashta, had been under work-related stress.
"She was worried about her job. The faculty at her school were troubling her. The principal too was troubling her. I could sense it from the way she spoke on the phone," Roshni told reporters, as quoted by multiple media outlets.
Rohini had returned home to Dewas on Saturday. On Sunday morning, she had tea and breakfast with her family before taking a phone call and going to her room, Roshni said.
The eldest of five siblings, Rohini had turned down several marriage proposals, her father said. She had long dreamed of becoming an IPS officer and had been striving to earn the Vikram Award -- Madhya Pradesh’s highest sporting honour -- for the past two years.
The family also revealed that Rohini had undergone surgery for a stomach lump about five months ago and had been in fragile health since. They have alleged harassment by her school principal, which, they believe, may have added to her distress.
Police have registered a case at the Bank Note Press police station and are awaiting the post-mortem report to establish the cause of death.
Rohini’s journey in jujitsu began in 2007, and she turned professional in 2015. She represented India at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou and was the country’s lone representative at the World Games in Birmingham.
Her medal haul included bronzes at the Thailand Open Grand Prix 2022 (48 kg category) and the 8th Asian Jujitsu Championship 2024 in Abu Dhabi (duo classic event). She had also qualified for the upcoming Combat Games in Saudi Arabia, continuing to make her mark on the international stage.
A case that began as a promising sporting story has now ended in tragedy — one that has left India’s jujitsu community in shock and mourning.
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