Narendra Shah, a suspended office bearer of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand, and a cricket coach has been arrested after being accused of sexually harassing three girl cricketers being trained by him. He was in hospital after attempting suicide and was taken into custody by police as soon as he was discharged from AIIMS-Rishikesh on April 7, 2023.
Shah ran his own cricket coaching academy and was accused of sexually harassing three cricketers, including a minor, being trained by him. He allegedly consumed poison following the allegation and was referred to AIIMS-Rishikesh from Doon Hospital.
He has been booked for sexual harassment under the SC/ST Act and The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
“He was brought to Dehradun at around 11pm and will be produced in a local court, “said Lokendra Bahuguna, in charge of Nehru Colony police station which registered the case against Shah.
Narendra Shah Accused On Casteist Slurs, Seeking Sexual Favors From Girl Cricketers At His Academy
In March 2023, the news first broke out of Narendra Shah , the former coach of a top cricketer who recently represented India as part of the senior women’s squad, being booked for sexual harassment, intimidation and use of casteist slurs following a complaint by three girls training at his popular academy in Dehradun.
Shah then consumed poison as soon as an audio clip was leaked by one of his students in which he is purportedly heard seeking sexual favors from her and using expletives.
The father of a 15-year-old cricketer from Shah’s academy lodged a complaint at the Nehru Colony police station saying his daughter was molested on multiple occasions. The man also alleged that Shah had used casteist slurs.
Following the complaint, Shah was booked under sections 354-A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and sections 7 and 8 of the Pocso Act. He was also slapped with relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A police officer involved in the probe told TOI: “The father of the minor girl said the coach spoke in an indecent manner, all the while using expletives. He had molested the girl on several occasions, the complainant said, asking her to ‘fulfil his sexual needs’.
“Shah threatened the minor against revealing all this to her family and told her to ‘consider herself lucky’ as she was ‘allowed’ to play with upper-case people when ‘people from lower caste shouldn’t even be allowed to mingle with them’. The coach said he would not allow her to play in future and ruin her cricketing career if she complained against him.”
Meanwhile, former chairperson of Uttarakhand State Commission For Protection of Child Rights Usha Negi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BCCI president Roger Binny demanding stern punishment for Shah.