Controversy erupted in SAI hostel of Cuttack‘s Barabati stadium with a minor girl athlete on Wednesday accusing her athletics coach of beating her and sexually harassing her.
The girl, who was admitted at the hostel located inside Cuttack’s Barabati stadium six months ago, in her complaint said she was constantly being harassed by the coach. “Today the girl had an altercation with some male athletes of the hostel, following which the coach thrashed her before others,” Satpathy said, quoting the FIR. Ray, 50, who has coached international athletes like Dutee Chand in the past, said he was hurt by such allegations. “I have always treated her as my daughter,” he said.
The Cuttack SAI hostel incident comes five months after four budding athletes of the sports body’s Allapuzha centre of Kerala entered into a suicide pact to escape their “mental agony”. A 16-year-old junior-level national rowing champion died after consuming a poisonous fruit.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/athlete-brings-sex-assault-charge-against-sai-coach.html
The 20-year-old girl has alleged that she was mentally and physically assaulted by the coach for past several days.
“On the basis of the complaint, we have registered a case under Sections 354-A (criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, 323 (causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of IPC and 10 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (Pocso) Act,” said Mahila police station Inspector Sakuntala Pati.
The police have, in the meantime, questioned the coach and some inmates of the SAI Hostel here. Police said the coach denied the sexual slur against him but admitted of slapping the girl twice as an act of reprimand for certain wrongdoings of her.