Coach Ankush Bharadwaj booked after 17-year-old shooter files sexual harassment case

Dubai: The Haryana Police have registered a case against national shooting coach Ankush Bharadwaj for the alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old national-level female shooter at a hotel in Faridabad. The FIR was lodged on Tuesday following a detailed complaint submitted by the athlete’s family, and an investigation is currently underway.

According to the FIR, the alleged incident occurred during a national-level shooting competition held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. The complaint states that Bharadwaj allegedly assaulted the minor in a hotel room in Faridabad on the pretext of assessing her performance.

Police have registered the 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 part of the investigation, authorities are recording witness statements and have sought CCTV footage from the hotel to corroborate the allegations.

“Considering the seriousness of the case, we have asked the hotel administration to immediately provide all CCTV footage from the day of the incident,” said Yashpal Yadav, Public Relations Officer of the Faridabad Police.

Bharadwaj is one of the 13 national pistol coaches appointed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Following the allegations, he has been suspended from all duties.

“We came to know about the matter through the media. Until the inquiry is completed, coach Ankush has been suspended from all responsibilities and will not be assigned any new role,” said NRAI Secretary General Pawan Kumar Singh.

In her statement to the police, the teenage shooter said her parents live in Noida while she is studying in Chandigarh. She has been training in shooting since 2017 and began training under coach Ankush Bharadwaj last year, which involved travelling to different cities for competitions.

She said that on December 16, she was in Delhi for a national-level shooting competition at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. After the event, as she was about to leave, Bharadwaj allegedly called her and asked her to wait so they could discuss her performance. He later asked her to come to a five-star hotel in Faridabad. She said she waited in the lobby before being called to his room.

According to the complaint, the 17-year-old was sitting on a chair when Bharadwaj offered to “crack her back.” When she refused, he allegedly forced her onto the bed and sexually assaulted her. She said she resisted and pushed him away, after which he threatened to ruin her career and told her to behave normally around him. He later dropped her home.

The teenager said she was frightened and initially did not tell anyone about the incident. She alleged that Bharadwaj later complained to her parents that she did not listen to him, and her mother scolded her. Unable to sleep and under stress, she eventually told her mother what had happened, following which her family took her to the police station to file a complaint.