A senior Indian minister has said the two Australian women’s team cricketers who were molested while walking to a café in the city of Indore “should have been more careful”.
Cabinet Minister for Madhya Pradesh Kailash Vijayvargiya, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP and a former mayor of the city, spoke out on Sunday about the groping case that sparked international outrage.
Mr Vijayvargiya told NDTV the incident was “unfortunate” but that players needed to bear in mind “there is a huge craze for cricketers” in India, Hindustan Times reported.
“Look, there has been a lapse. But the players suddenly leaving from there without telling anyone – they didn’t even tell their coach – this is a mistake from their side too,” he said.
“Because, there was personal security and police security too, but they left as no one noticed, and this incident happened.
“But now the players should also learn from this. I feel that when we go to another country, or another city, we should also worry about our own safety.”
Police bring out the man accused of stalking and molesting two Australian women’s team cricketers in Indore, India.
Akil Khan (also being spelled Aqueel or Aqeel in the Indian media) now appears to have a broken arm and leg. pic.twitter.com/m5AOYzDYGG
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His comments came after another BJP Madhya Pradesh MP, Rameshwar Sharma, said the accused, a Muslim named Akil Khan, “was given a due beating” – an apparent reference to the suspect suffering a broken arm and leg between the time he was arrested and paraded in front of the media by police.
He then referred to Khan as being among “some illegitimate children” who “conspire to defame Indian culture”.
The two Australian Women’s Cricket World Cup players were 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 Khan and charged him with “use of criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty” and stalking.
Indore Police then released video of Khan, whose first name is also being spelled as Aqueel or Aqeel in the Indian media, being paraded in front of cameras with casts on an arm and leg.
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.
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, Kailash Vijayvargiya (Facebook). Right, the suspect being brought out by police (Indore Police).
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