‘Forced into hotel room, threatened to ruin career’: National shooting coach accused of raping minor athlete

The Haryana Police have booked a shooting coach over alleged sexual assault against an 18-year-old national-level woman shooter at a hotel in Faridabad last month.

As reported by HT earlier, an FIR was registered on Tuesday following a detailed complaint by the shooter’s family, and a probe is now underway. Police have also said that the athlete was a minor at the time of the incident.

According to the FIR, the incident allegedly took place on December 16, a day after the athlete competed in a national-level shooting competition at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Academy in New Delhi.

The accused is among the 13 national pistol coaches appointed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), police said.

Police said the family has alleged that the athlete was pressured to go to the coach’s room on the pretext that the discussion would be more focused there.

Once inside the room, the coach allegedly sexually assaulted the athlete. According to the complaint accessed by HT, the victim tried to resist but the coach did not stop. The FIR further alleges that the coach threatened to ruin her career and harm her family if she disclosed the incident.

The athlete is said to have left the hotel in a state of shock and later narrated the ordeal to her family, following which a police complaint was filed.

“Looking at the seriousness of the case, we have already asked the hotel administration to share all the CCTV camera footage of the day of the incident immediately to corroborate the allegations of the minor girl,” Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said.

However, so far, the accused has neither been detained nor issued a notice. According to the investigators, the sports federation concerned has also not been informed yet.

Police said statements of witnesses are also being recorded as part of the investigation.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case 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, as the athlete was a minor at the time of the alleged offence.