Five top Indian athletes face charges of abduction and rape of 28-year-old woman

Nagarathna : hapless victim ?When five top Indian athletes, one of them a medallist in an international meet, converged in Bangalore for a training camp for the Asian Games, sports, it would seem, would have been uppermost in their minds.Belying this expectation, however, are the serious charges with which they are faced: the alleged abduction and rape of a 28-year-old woman in Bangalore. In an unprecedented move last fortnight, the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) which is holding an enquiry into the incident, suspended them.The five involved are: Piara Singh, marathon ace who participated in the Seoul meet this year; Ranjit Singh, silver medallist for the 20-km walk in the recent Asian track and field meet; Kashmira Singh, services decathlon champion; Gurdyal Singh, the all India police champion in 400 metres and Joginder Singh, title holder in javelin throw in the all India police meet. Three of the sportsmen are from Punjab and two from Haryana.According to police reports, the five were sharing a room in the Netaji Institute of Sports (NIS). South Centre, when on June 14 around 10 p.m. they decided to paint the town red. Outside the stadium is the Pallavi Theatre where 28-year-old Nagarathna, a silk farm labourer and mother of a five-year-old boy, stood waiting for a bus along with her friend Jaya, after the first show. As the area around the stadium is known to be frequented by women of ill-repute, the boisterous athletes thought the women were on the make. According to the police they made a grab for the two. Jaya escaped and the slender Nagarathna was gagged and carried to the dormitory nearby.Varying Accounts: It was there that Gangadhar, the nightwatchman, heard Nagarathna's screams and came to investigate. When he found the five with the woman he locked the dormitory gate and rushed to the nearest police station. When the police entered the dormitory they found a naked, whimpering Nagarathna. The five athletes had dashed into the next room where they feigned sleep. They were rounded up and produced before a metropolitan magistrate the next morning. The magistrate refused bail and remanded them to judicial custody where they were made to cool their heels for 10 days. Nagarathna was sent for medical examination and then asked to stay in the state reception centre where she was joined by her son. Although Nagarathna is married, her husband Rudracharya had deserted her five years ago.(F'rorn left) Piara, Ranjit, Kashmira, Gurdyal, and Joginder : facing a bleak futureSaid a "shocked" Gurbux Singh, deputy director, NIS: "We have to hang our heads in shame." The AAPI took a "serious" view of the incident. An emergency meeting was called in New Delhi and the federation decided to suspend the athletes and send federation secretary G.S. Sivia to make an on-the-spot investigation.According to the athletes' coach, R. N. Sinha, Piara and Kashmira came to him that night and said that the police had entered their room, found a woman under their beds, and accused them of raping her. They claimed that they did not know how the woman had got there. However, sources in the NIS allege that the woman had willingly gone to the room but balked when all five tried to satisfy their lust at the same time. But police deny that the woman was a prostitute and dismiss this version as false.Another story doing the rounds is that there was a feud between the watchmen of the stadium and the athletes after a cassette player and wrist-watch of one of the trainees was stolen from his room. Gangadhar, the watchman who had called the police, is said to be the key suspect and to get his own back at them he is supposed to have got the five athletes into trouble.But whatever the truth, B.M. Yashvantgol, deputy commissioner of police, law and order, said: "Even if Nagarathna turns out to be a woman of questionable morals, the offence is not diluted. The law does not make concessions just because she is a woman of ill-repute. Nobody can abduct and rape even an immoral woman."As it stands, the future seems bleak for the athletes. If they are found guilty they face a sentence of seven years in prison.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 14, 2013 11:37 IST--- ENDS ---

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Five top Indian athletes face charges of abduction and rape of 28-year-old woman

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