Police in India have arrested a man on suspicion of stalking and groping two Australian cricketers at the ICC Women’s World Cup, officials said Saturday.
The incident occurred in the central Indian city of Indore on Thursday morning as the pair left their hotel to eat at a cafe, police officer Rajesh Dandotiya said by phone.
“We acted instantly on a complaint from Australian team security, filed an FIR, and arrested the accused within six hours,” said Dandotiya.
Violence against women continues to be a systemic problem in the world’s most populous country, where an average of almost 90 rapes per day were reported in 2022.
Get breaking news and Latest News from India and around the world. Written by Harsha Kumari Singh | Jaipur/Jind | Updated: August 1, 2020, am Maru” a farmer himself, Papodia is contesting as a BJP candidate. Dandotiya also said the accused, who was arrested, is 30 years old and has a criminal history. The man followed the players and approached them ‘for a bad touch’ around 800 metres from their hotel.
The two players were not named by Indian police or Cricket Australia, which confirmed the incident.
In a statement, Cricket Australia said the matter had been reported to police by team security and was being dealt with by authorities.
It was “a deplorable and an isolated incident,” the Indian Board of Control for Cricket said in a statement.
‘At the ACA, safety and security are of paramount concern, and the matter will be looked into thoroughly.’ Will review our existing safety protocols and, if needed, make them more stringent to ensure that such untoward incidents are not repeated. The summer Down Under has been marred by heated exchanges between players on the field —a reflection of how competitive this beautiful game actually is off it as well.
“The reports of the incident are a little hazy, but we understand that a message was sent by one of the cricketers to their security manager in Australia that somebody is following us and he’s trying to grab men,” reported The Times of India. Team officials received word and went to the players’ location to help, the paper said.
A police patrol has since taken the players back to their hotel safely.
The police added that the man arrested for “inappropriate behaviour and following” has had a case opened against him.
Australia played against South Africa in their pool match in Indore on Saturday.
India has taken steps in recent years to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment, but the safety of women remains a serious concern.