NEW DELHI: Swimming coach Surajit Ganguly, who has been accused of raping a 15-year-old training under him, was arrested in New Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate area on Friday. Goa Police on Thursday had registered a case of rape, molestation and criminal intimidation under the IPC, as well as for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against Ganguly, who was employed with the Goa Swimming Association (GSA).
Social media was awash with a purported video of the crime and on seeing it, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted that stringent action would be taken. GSA sacked him soon after. “I’ve taken a strong view of the incident. The Goa Swimming Association has terminated the contract of coach Surajit Ganguly. I’m asking the Swimming Federation of India to ensure that this coach is not employed anywhere in India. This applies to all federations & disciplines,” Rijiju wrote.
“A stringent action will be taken through SAI. Firstly, it’s a heinous crime of serious nature so I’ll urge the police to take stringent penal action against the coach urgently.” The Swimming Federation of India banned Ganguly on Friday. “Based on social media accounts, the state unit has initiated suo-moto action to ban this individual from all coaching activity in the state,” the federation wrote in a statement.