Anandeshwar Pandey, general secretary of the UP Olympic Association, has a rape case filed against him at Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi police station.
A handball player has filed a police report (FIR) accusing Pandey, who serves as the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) treasurer, of sexual assault.
The accusation against Pandey was made by Seema Sharma, a former national-level handball player with Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Pandey served as the Handball Federation of India (HFI) secretary general from 2013 to 2020.
The FIR was filed on Sunday at the Mahila Police Station in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, under IPC sections 506 (attempt to commit an offence), 511 (rape), and 376 (rape) (criminal intimidation).
Sharma claims in her complaint that Pandey attempted to rape her at the UPOA headquarters in Lucknow in March of this year. The Hazratganj police station in Lucknow now has the zero FIR.
“It was a zero FIR and has the sections of sexual assault. The case was transferred to Lucknow on Monday,” said SHO of Mahila Police Station Bhiwadi.
On July 31, Sharma, a constable in the Mohanlalganj, India, 4th battalion of the SSB, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlining the incident and requesting his action.
Sharma, 28, said in the lawsuit that she met Pandey at the National Women’s Handball Championships tryouts.
On March 12, the tryouts were held at the K.D. Singh Babu Stadium. Before the final selection on March 26, she claimed she made it to the camp and that her coach instructed her to go to Pandey’s office, where he reportedly misbehaved and harassed her, according to the FIR.
Sharma wrote in her complaint that she resisted his advances during which her jersey got torn. “He then threatened me with dire consequences and said he is very powerful and will end my playing career,” she said in her complaint.
“I informed my higher officials about this incident,” said Sharma, who has represented Uttar Pradesh in sub-junior, junior and senior level national championships.
Sharma claimed that despite the fact that Pandey has destroyed the careers of numerous handball players and is a repeat offender, no one has dared to file a complaint against him because of his “powerful and well-connected” status.
As images of Pandey in lewd poses with various women circulated on social media last week, he was also in the news. Pandey said that there was a “political conspiracy” behind the entire incident, and he claimed to have complained to the Lucknow Police Cyber Cell about the images.
Former national-level runner Pandey began his handball career in 1977–78, when he first played for Uttar Pradesh in the nationals.
He is also the head of the coordination committee for the forthcoming National Games, which will start on September 27 in Ahmedabad.
(Inputs from IANS)