2 Australian Women Cricketers Stalked, Molested in Indore; Accused Held

Bhopal: In a shocking incident, two Australian women cricketers visiting India for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup were allegedly stalked and molested by a motorcycle-borne man in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, said a media report.

Acting on the matter, the Indore Police, after registering an FIR on the complaint of the Australian team’s security manager, Danny Simmons, tracked and nabbed the accused Aqeel Khan, a resident of Khajrana area, on Friday evening.

The incident happened just a day after the Aussie team defeated the English team at Indore’s Holkar Stadium by six wickets in the ongoing Women’s World Cup match.

According to Indore Police, the incident happened at around 11 am on October 23, while the two players were jogging from the Radisson Blu Hotel where they were staying to a popular café located in the vicinity.

The accused youth, who was driving a motorcycle without a helmet, stalked the two players who were jogging to the café. The accused, who was wearing a white shirt and a black cap, followed the duo. He first tried to grab one of them and drove off. He didn’t stop there but came from behind again and grabbed the other woman cricketer.

Shocked by the unruly approach, the duo resisted the conduct to protect their privacy. They sent a distress signal to the team’s security manager, Danny Simmons, over the phone through the live location of the place. One of the cricketers then called the team’s security manager to inform about the incident, after which the manager rushed to the spot in a car to help the duo.

By the time the team’s security manager reached the spot, a resident man had come to the two cricketers’ rescue. He had already noted the registration number of the bike driven by the accused and rang the police about it.

The matter was later reported to Indore Police by Simmons with the help of MP Cricket Association’s chief administrative officer (CAO) Rohit Pandit, following which an FIR was lodged at the city’s MIG Police Station on October 23.