HYDERABAD: On the second day of an internal inquiry initiated by Sports Minister Srinivas Goud in response to allegations against Sports School OSD Harikrishna, officials continued their investigation.
Simultaneously, an audio clip surfaced, what appears to be a conversation involving the minister’s former employee, named Surendra, and an individual who identified himself as an acquaintance of a victim. Despite attempts to reach the minister for confirmation of the allegations, there was no response.
The focus of the internal inquiry centres on allegations of sexual assault against students of the sports school. A team comprising members from the District Child Protection Unit, SHE Teams, Keesara RDO, and Child Rights Commission conducted interviews with students, recorded statements, and collected evidence, including CCTV footage from the academy premises. Amidst this ongoing process, the audio conversation brought to light a separate incident of sexual harassment.
A sportsperson from Kamareddy fell victim to alleged stalking and sexual harassment by phone by a former employee from the minister’s chamber.
The victim, who has achieved accolades and medals in international sports events, sought assistance from the minister for her athletic pursuits. Subsequently, the former employee obtained her contact details and initiated inappropriate messaging. The revealed audio conversation features the victim’s relative confronting the former employee regarding his offensive messages. These messages solicited the victim’s age, photos, and meeting requests during her free time.
Initially denying the claims, Surendra later admitted his mistake when the relative suggested involving ‘Anna,’ a reference to the minister.
He subsequently apologised to the victim under the relative’s guidance. Later, in a plea to avoid disgrace, Surendra implored the relative not to disclose the incident, to which the relative agreed. Surendra was terminated 15 days ago for undisclosed reasons and is not known whether the minister himself is aware of the incident or not. Despite repeated attempts to reach the minister for comment on the matter, no response has been received from his end.