Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
FOURTH COMPLAINANT
Thereafter, the girl was discriminated against during a host of trials and events “at the behest of the accused”.
After the bouts during the tournament, wrestlers participating in the event were asked to pose for a group photo.
“While I was standing in the last row and waiting for the other wrestlers to take their position, the accused came and stood alongside me. To my shock and surprise, I suddenly felt a hand on my buttock. I immediately looked back and to my horror, the accused had placed his hands on my buttock. I was stunned by the actions of the accused which were highly indecent and objectionable and without my consent. I immediately tried to move away from that spot in order to protect myself from further inappropriate touching by the accused, however, when I tried moving away, I was forcibly held by my shoulder by the accused.”
“Since I was not comfortable with the behaviour of the accused of forcing me... [I] tried to push him away to which he replied by saying
(Don’t try and be too smart; don’t you want to participate in future competitions?)’.
Incident #2: New Delhi and Vishakhapatnam, December 2022 WHAT HAPPENED:
After she got selected for senior national championships, she said her document verification process was stalled repeatedly.
‘Ladki ko lekar aao aap... aise nahi hoga
She accused even got the signatures on her verified documents “struck off”. When she asked him why her name was removed, he told her:
“When I enquired from the (how was I looking), practice kaisi chal rhi hai, mereko bata dio agar kuch chahiye ho toh (how is practice going, let me know if you need anything)”.
Incident # 3: November 2012 WHAT HAPPENED:
The incidents of sexual harassment continued.
“In order to further fulfil his sexual intentions, he also tried to bribe me by offering to buy supplements which I may require as an athlete in exchange for sexual favours”.
The endless harassment forced the victim, who only used her mother’s phone till then, to buy a separate number.
Wrestler was forced to sign a document stating her apology and was not allowed to read the contents.
“Accused No 1 asked everyone to leave his office, but I was instructed by him to remain in his office. When I also sought permission to leave he replied: ‘Itni kya jaldi hai, kaha jaana hai, baitho idhar hi’. While saying this, he pressed my shoulders. While we were sitting he was touching his legs against mine and continued talking and even touched my knees. Again to my shock and surprise, he put his hand on my breast and slid it down my stomach on the pretext of examining/checking my breathing and asked me to take deep breaths, but his only intention was to touch me inappropriately with the intent to outrage my modesty.”