Varun Kumar, an Indian national team hockey player, is under investigation by the Bengaluru Police for rape charges. The police stated that they are collecting evidence, scanning through call detail records, messages, and voice notes exchanged between him and the alleged victim as part of the ongoing investigation. The police added that they would soon approach the 28-year-old to join the probe.
“We are investigating the case and are collecting the required evidence. We have not approached Kumar yet. He is out of Karnataka, so we will be contacting him soon to join the probe. We have not sent any teams to his place where he is currently undergoing training. If he comes, fine, or we will have to send our team there,” a senior police officer told PTI.
“We have already started collecting evidence. We are scanning through messages exchanged between the victim and Kumar, the voice notes, call detail records. We would also be approaching their mutual friends to record statements,” he said.
Kumar has been booked under the POCSO act
Kumar has been charged under the POCSO act by the Bengaluru Police after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor.
In her complaint filed on February 5, the 22-year-old stated that she first connected with Kumar on Instagram in 2018, and he subsequently raped her on multiple occasions, promising marriage when she was 17 years old.
She mentioned that Kumar was undergoing training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Bengaluru when they met.
Kumar, who received the Arjuna Award in 2021, was recently promoted to the rank of DSP in the Punjab Police.
"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 Bengaluru Police officer said on February 6.
India are set to face Spain on February 10
Kumar, who was on the standby list for the Indian team at the Tokyo Olympics, is currently training with the national squad in Bhubaneswar for the upcoming FIH Pro League. India are set to face Spain in their opening encounter on February 10. Despite rumors suggesting that Kumar, a member of the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver-medal winning Indian team, is evading authorities, Hockey India dismissed such claims.
He hails from Himachal Pradesh and made his debut for India in 2017.
According to the FIR, the woman alleges that Kumar urged her to meet after connecting on Instagram, and she agreed after persuasion from some of his friends. Over time, they developed a friendship and entered into a relationship.
According to the woman, he brought her to a hotel in Bengaluru's Jayanagar in July 2019 and engaged in physical relations with her, despite knowing that she was a minor at the time. She claimed to have resisted, but he assured her of advancing their relationship and marrying her later on.
"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.
The woman claimed that he began to distance himself from her and stopped responding to her calls and messages following her father's death last year.
According to the FIR, Kumar visited her to offer condolences but stopped communication afterward. She mentioned that Kumar resumed contact when she attempted to approach the police previously. However, he once again distanced himself when she persisted in discussing marriage. He then threatened to post her photos on social media if she continued to pressure him.
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