National Kabaddi Player Accuses Coach of Sexual Assault and Blackmail, Delhi Police Registers FIR

Delhi Police has filed an FIR on the basis of the complaint of a 27-year-old national level kabaddi player who has accused her coach of sexual assault and blackmail by threatening to leak her private photos. The complaint was made at Baba Haridas Nagar police station.

The kabaddi player alleged that she was preparing for the kabaddi competition in Hirankudna near Mundka in West Delhi since 2012, and her coach ‘made sexual relations with her without her consent’ in March 2015. She accused the coach of forcing her to give him a part of her earnings from a competition she won in 2018.

She transferred Rs 43.5 lakh to the bank account of the accused coach Joginder. In 2021, she got married and the accused is blackmailing her to leak her private photos, police said. Based on the complaint, police have registered a case against the coach, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Delhi police have started an investigation into the matter. The kabaddi player joined the investigation on Monday and her statement is being recorded in the court.

In January, some prominent wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Mallikkh and Bajrang Punia had staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital alleging sexual harassment of women wrestlers by the president and coaches of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and of mismanagement in the functioning of the federation.

They withdrew their protest after talks with the government. The government has formed an oversight committee and allegations of wrestlers are being probed.

An FIR under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered, the police said, adding that teams have been formed to nab the accused.