India: National shooting coach suspended after sexual harassment allegations.

New Delhi: Ankush Bhardwaj, a prominent member of India’s shooting coaching team, has been suspended by the national federation after a minor shooter accused him of sexual harassment during the National Championships last month. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Bhardwaj in Faridabad. Bhardwaj, a resident of Mohali, has been booked under Section 6 of the POCSO Act (aggravated sexual assault) and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (criminal intimidation).

NRAI Secretary Rajiv Bhatia told PTI, “The NRAI has suspended him, and we will be issuing him a show-cause notice.”
He further added, “He has been suspended on moral grounds. Now he has to prove his innocence. Until the investigation is complete, he will not be involved in any coaching activity.”
Bhatia said that the NRAI had recommended Bhardwaj’s name for the 37-member coaching team after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Bhatia said, “It was on the NRAI’s recommendation that SAI appointed him as one of the coaches. This is a case of sexual harassment that took place at Surajkund.”
According to the FIR filed by the victim, she was targeted during the National Championships at the Karni Singh Range last month.
The girl, who had been training with Bhardwaj since August last year, stated that she was in shock after the incident and only confided in her mother on January 1 after being repeatedly questioned.
In her FIR, the 17-year-old girl alleged that Bhardwaj would call her for training sessions in places like Mohali, Patiala, Dehradun, and Delhi, but she would always return home the same day.
However, on the day of the incident, the victim stated that she had traveled alone by taxi to the Karni Singh Range to participate in the Nationals. The girl stated that as she was about to leave for home after finishing her competition, the coach asked her to stay back to analyze her performance.
In her complaint, she said the coach initially asked her to meet him in the lobby of a hotel in the Surajkund area of ​​Faridabad. However, upon her arrival, he allegedly forced her to come to his room, saying that a more focused discussion was needed.
“The coach asked me to come to the lift area. After that, when I went to the lift area, Coach Sir told me that he had booked a room here, so come to my room. I will talk to you about the match there.
“He took me to a room on the third floor and discussed the match. After some time, I told Sir that I wanted to go home, but he told me that he would give me a back massage,” she said, referring to a physiotherapy technique for post-competition recovery.
“I immediately refused. Then Sir forcibly made me lie down on my stomach and sexually assaulted me, and when I resisted, he threatened me,” the victim stated in the FIR.
“He threatened me not to tell anyone about this incident, otherwise he would ruin my professional career. I was very scared after the incident and didn’t tell anyone,” she said, adding that after her mother repeatedly questioned her about the change in her behavior after the incident, she finally confided in her mother.
A senior police officer said that the investigation is underway.
Bhardwaj, a former pistol shooter, had faced a doping ban in 2010 for using beta-blockers during his competitive days. Beta-blockers are banned for athletes participating in sports like shooting, archery, and billiards as they help reduce heart rate, muscle tremors, and anxiety.