In yet another case of sexual assault rocking the country’s sports arena, a junior hockey coach was arrested by Haryana police for allegedly raping and impregnating a minor girl, officials said.
A complaint was filed at Khol police station on Friday by a student of Class 12, a hockey player, who belongs to a village in Rewari district. Police said an FIR was registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant provisions of law on the same day.
The girl alleged that about four months ago, a junior coach whom she had known for three years, raped her in a bathroom of the stadium where she trained. The survivor said she became pregnant, and on January 5, suffered a miscarriage following which she had to be admitted to a hospital by her family as her health deteriorated.
“We have arrested the accused junior coach. After producing him in a city court we have taken him on two days of police remand and are questioning him,” a Rewari police spokesperson said on Saturday.
In a similar shocking case of exploitation of position by person of authority in the sports world, a national shooting coach, Ankush Bhardwaj, was suspended by the NRAI (National Rifles Association of India) last week on charges of sexually assaulting a minor shooter last month.
An FIR was also filed against Bhardwaj in Haryana’s Faridabad under Section 6 of POCSO Act (aggravated sexual assault), and Section 351(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (criminal intimidation).
The alleged assault took place in Surajkund, as per the FIR filed by the victim, 17, who said she was targetted in December during the National Championships at the Karni Singh Range.
Bhardwaj became a part of the 37-strong coaching team after the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Also Read: National shooting coach suspended for sexual assault of minor
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