Two members of Australia’s Women’s Cricket World Cup team have allegedly been molested while walking down a street in the city of Indore, India.
The pair were allegedly followed by a man on a motorcycle while walking from their hotel, the Radisson Blu, to a café in the Khajrana Road area on Thursday morning before being touched inappropriately.
Team security reported the incident to police, who then apprehended a suspect named Akil Khan and charged with “use of criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty” and stalking, NDTV Sports reported.
Indore Police have since released video of Khan, whose first name is also being spelled as Aqueel or Aqeel in the Indian media, being paraded in front of camera with what appears to be a a broken leg and arm.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Himani Mishra, who met the players and took their statements, said Khan had “prior criminal cases registered against him” and the investigation was ongoing.
India’s state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya called the incident a “stain on India’s image”, and Madhya Pradesh MP Rameshwar Sharma said the police were “trying to crush such criminals”.
Cricket Australia confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, saying that police had been handling the matter since receiving the report from team security.
“CA can confirm two members of the Australian Women’s team were approached and touched inappropriately by a motorcyclist while walking to a café in Indore,” CA said.
The women’s team has been in India for a week while competing in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Header image: Left, the suspect being brought out by police (Indore Police) CCTV footage of the suspect.
