India hockey player Varun Kumar accused of rape, booked under POCSO act
Bengaluru, Feb 6: Indian Hockey player Varun Kumar has been booked under POCSO Act after a woman accused him of rape on multiple occasions promising to marry her, police said on Tuesday.
The woman, who currently works as an airline staff, claimed she was 17 years-old when she came in contact with Kumar, an Arjuna awardee, in 2018 while he was training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) here.
In the FIR, the woman alleged that Kumar approached her through Instagram and insisted on meeting her. He kept messaging her to meet but when she did not respond, he also asked his friends to convince her to meet him. When she met him, he expressed his liking towards her. They remained friends and slowly got into a relationship.
In July 2019, he took her out on the pretext of talking about their future to a hotel in Bengaluru's Jayanagar and made physical relationship with her despite being aware that she was a minor. She resisted but he promised to take their relationship a step further and marry her later.
"She accused him of getting physical with her on several occasions over the five-year long relationship she shared with him on the pretext of marriage." the FIR stated.
Later, he started distancing himself from her and stopped responding to her calls and messages. He even threatened to upload her photos on social media if she exerted pressure on him for marriage. She also accused him of cheating her, according to the FIR.
"Based on the complaint received from the woman, we have registered a case on Monday against the Hockey player under appropriate section of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code," a senior police officer said.
Kumar, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, made his debut for India in 2017. The Himachal Pradesh government had also announced an award of Rs one crore for Kumar after the Indian men's Hockey team won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was also part of the Indian team that won silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Situation in Jharkhand village peaceful day after religious procession 'pelted with stones'
Hazaribag (PTI): The situation in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district remained peaceful on Monday, a day after tension gripped a village following an alleged stone-pelting incident during a religious procession, a senior police officer said.
Barhi subdivisional police officer (SDPO) Ajit Kumar Bimal told PTI that the situation in Jhurjhuri village was brought under control within a few hours of the incident on Sunday evening.
"All shops, markets and business establishments remained open and traffic was normal," he said.
Asked about arrests, Bimal said the process of identifying those involved was underway, and an FIR had been lodged in connection with the incident.
The incident occurred around 8 pm on Sunday, when stones were allegedly thrown at a religious procession. Security was tightened in the area following the incident.
The group that organised the procession claimed several women were injured in the attack.
In response, the participants blocked a stretch of the GT Road. "The situation is now completely under control," the SDPO added.
