Overview
- Haryana police booked national coach Ankush Bhardwaj under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, with crime unit and women’s police station teams conducting raids to arrest him.
- The National Rifle Association of India has suspended Bhardwaj and placed him on leave without pay pending the investigation, with its president saying the body will fully cooperate with law enforcement.
- According to the FIR by a 17-year-old shooter, the coach allegedly coerced her from a hotel lobby to his room during the National Championships and later threatened her career and family.
- NRAI president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo reiterated a zero-tolerance policy, cited SOPs that forbid athletes from entering coaches’ rooms, and said the federation will strengthen safeguards and encourage reporting to the ICC under the POSH framework.
- Deo said no formal complaint reached the NRAI or its Internal Complaints Committee before the police case, and he had earlier declined to comment when asked at a Shooting League of India promotion event scheduled for February 16–26.