A woman has registered a sexual harassment case with the Delhi Police against an Indian gymnast and his coach, for allegedly outraging her modesty as a woman, and criminally intimidating her.
The alleged sexual harassment took place at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, earlier this month. The woman, who is a PHD scholar and a trainee-level gymnast, has revealed that the two men passed lewd remarks and made obscene gestures towards her.
The duo has been booked under Section 506 (punishment for criminally intimidating someone) and Section 509 (any gesture, word or act, which is intended to insult the modesty of any woman) of the Indian Penal code (IPC). The case has been booked at the IP Estate Police station.
The duo has been identified as international level gymnast Chandan Pathak and his Asian Games coach Monoj Rana, by IBN Live. The Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI) has said that they would take strict action against the two men, should they be found guilty.
"It's an unfortunate and shameful development, if at all such an incident had happened," said Kaushik Bidiwala, General Secretary, GFI, to the PTI. "We will inquire internally if such incidents had happened and if these people are found guilty, strict action will be taken."
However, the GFI did confirm that the two would not immediately be called back to India. They said that they would be allowed to participate in the Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, where they are currently situated. The GFI will let the police run their investigation. The GFI would only step in to take action, once the player and the coach are found guilty of the crime they have been accused of.
"We will take the necessary action only after the Asian Games," continued Bidiwala. "As of now, they will not be sent back home."
The woman had filed the FIR late on Wednesday night. In her FIR, she stated that the player and his coach had passed vulgar comments about her clothes, and made rude gestures in her direction on 2 September.
Pathak and Rana left for South Korea on Wednesday to participate in the Asian Games. The duo will be questioned upon their arrival in the country from South Korea in October.
