A national shooting coach has been booked by Haryana Police for allegedly sexually assaulting a national-level woman shooter at a hotel in Faridabad last month. An FIR was registered on Tuesday following a detailed complaint filed by the athlete’s family. Police said the shooter, now 18, was a minor at the time of the alleged incident.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on December 16, a day after the athlete participated in a national-level shooting competition at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Academy in New Delhi. The accused is one of the 13 national pistol coaches appointed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
As per the complaint, the coach asked the shooter to meet him at the lobby of a hotel in Surajkund, Faridabad, claiming he wanted to analyse her performance. The family alleged that the athlete was then persuaded to go to his room on the pretext that the discussion would be more detailed there.
Once inside the room, the coach allegedly sexually assaulted her. The FIR states that when the athlete tried to resist, the coach continued and threatened to ruin her career and harm her family if she spoke about the incident.
The athlete later left the hotel in a state of shock and informed her family, following which a police complaint was lodged.
Faridabad Police said they have sought CCTV footage from the hotel to verify the allegations and are recording statements of witnesses as part of the investigation. However, the accused has not yet been detained or served a notice, and the concerned sports federation has not been formally informed so far.
A case has been registered 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.