A 17-year-old shooter has approached the police against national shooting coach, Ankush Bharadwaj, alleging that he sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Faridabad.
A complaint filed by the athlete’s family said Bharadwaj persuaded the shooter to come to his hotel room in Faridabad under the pretext of evaluating her performance. This incident happened during the national-level shooting competition at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.
Initially, Bharadwaj asked her to meet him in the hotel lobby, but then pressured her into his room and sexually assaulted her there. Her family alleged that the coach threatened to ruin the shooter's career and harm her family if she told anyone about the incident.
The athlete reportedly left the hotel in a state of shock and later told her family about the incident. The family subsequently filed an official police complaint.
According to reports, the victim alleged that the same coach had behaved similarly with another female shooter.
An FIR has been filed against him at the Women's Police Station, NIT Faridabad, under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Faridabad Police Public Relations Officer Yashpal Yadav said, "Given the seriousness of the matter, we have asked the hotel administration to immediately provide footage from all CCTV cameras from the day of the incident to verify the minor girl's allegations."
The accused coach is one of 13 national pistol coaches employed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). He has been suspended following the allegations.
