A prominent national shooting coach faces serious charges after a teenage trainee accused him of sexual assault. The incident, which allegedly occurred in a five-star hotel in Surajkund, has led to the coach's suspension and a police investigation under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Details of the Alleged Assault
The complainant is a 17-year-old shooter who was in Delhi to participate in the national championships at the Tughlaqabad shooting range on December 16. According to her police complaint, the coach, identified as Ankush Bharadwaj, invited her to his hotel room under the pretext of a focused discussion about her match performance.
The young athlete stated that as she prepared to leave, Bharadwaj suggested he wanted to "crack her back," describing it as a post-match recovery technique. When she refused, the situation escalated. "He pushed me to the bed and sexually assaulted me," the survivor alleged in her complaint filed at the Women's Police Station in Faridabad's NIT area.
Legal Action and Institutional Response
Based on the detailed complaint, the Faridabad police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Tuesday. The coach has been charged under Section 6 (penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Inspector Maya, the investigating officer, confirmed that Ankush Bharadwaj, a resident of Mohali, has not been arrested yet. The police revealed that the survivor is a first-year BBA student from a Union Territory and the only child of parents working in private companies in the Delhi-NCR region.
The National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) acted swiftly upon receiving a copy of the FIR. NRAI secretary general Pawan Singh stated that the association has suspended the coach and informed its internal complaint committee. A show-cause notice has been served to Bharadwaj, and his name has been removed from all official assignments.
Background and Broader Implications
The survivor's complaint provides further context, noting that her parents had enrolled her for coaching under Ankush Bharadwaj in August last year. She claimed he had called her for training sessions at various locations, including Mohali, Patiala, Dehradun, and Delhi.
Ankush Bharadwaj was among 37 coaches appointed as a pistol coach after the Paris Olympics in 2024. This high-profile case has sent shockwaves through the national sports community, raising urgent questions about the safety mechanisms and accountability for young athletes under the care of accredited coaches.
The case continues to be investigated, and authorities are pursuing legal procedures. The incident underscores the critical need for robust safeguarding policies within sports institutions to protect vulnerable athletes from exploitation.
