A senior member of India’s shooting coaching staff, Ankush Bhardwaj, has been suspended by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) after a minor girl shooter accused him of sexually assaulting her during the National Championships last month. The NRAI has confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Bhardwaj in Faridabad. Bhardwaj, who lives in Mohali, has been charged under Section 6 of the POCSO Act for aggravated sexual assault, and Section 351(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation, according to a report by PTI.
“NRAI has suspended him and we will issue a show-cause notice. He has been suspended on moral grounds. Now, he has to prove himself innocent. Till the inquiry is not completed, he will not be associated with any coaching activity,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told PTI.
Bhatia said that after the Paris Olympics in 2024, the NRAI had recommended Bhardwaj for one of the 37 positions in the coaching team.
Sports ministry reacts, stresses accountability
The Sports Ministry, taking note of the allegations, said, “All stakeholders have to share responsibility of ensuring that youngsters who place their faith in coaches and systems don’t have to go through something like this.”
According to the FIR filed by the girl, she was targeted last month during the National Championships at the Karni Singh Range. The girl, who has been training under Bhardwaj since August last year, said she was traumatised by what happened and finally told her mother on January 1 after being repeatedly asked.
In her FIR, the 17-year-old said that Bhardwaj would call her for training in places like Mohali, Patiala, Dehradun and Delhi, but she would always return home the same day. However, on the day of the incident, she went alone in a taxi to the Karni Singh Range to take part in the Nationals, the report said.
Complaint says coach asked her to meet at hotel
She said that after finishing her event and preparing to go home, the coach asked her to stay back so he could review her performance. She said in her complaint that the coach first asked her to meet him in the lobby of a hotel in Surajkund, Faridabad. But when she reached, he allegedly convinced her to come up to his room, saying they needed a more focused discussion, as per the PTI report.
A senior police officer told the news agency that an investigation is ongoing.
Bhardwaj, a former pistol shooter, had earlier served a doping ban in 2010 after testing positive for a beta-blocker. These drugs are banned in sports like shooting, archery and billiards because they lower heart rate, reduce muscle tremors and relieve anxiety.