The probe into the case of alleged misbehaviour with a gymnast by her coach and a fellow athlete has hit a roadblock as both the accused, currently in South Korea for the Asian Games, are not expected to return for the next couple of weeks.
The accused duo – coach Manoj Rana and international gymnast Chandan Pathak – flew out with the Indian contingent on Tuesday when the case against them was registered. The police said they will now have to wait at least till October 4, when the games would conclude.
The incident took place on September 2. In her complaint, the victim told the police that Mr. Rana and Mr. Pathak, both from the Army, had commented on the colour of her inner wear.
With the help of her brother, the victim complained to the chief coach who called both the accused and asked them to apologise but they denied the charges. She also alleged that Mr. Rana later threatened her for lodging a complaint.
“The coach threatened me saying I wasn’t aware whom I was dealing with,” says the complaint.
Asked if officials of the Gymnastics Federation of India, who had allegedly taken no action against the accused despite a complaint registered by the victim, would be questioned, a senior police officer said it was premature to comment on such a possibility.