‘Let me crack your back’: Shooting coach Ankush Bhardwaj threatened to ruin athlete’s career, called her to five-star hotel for 'discussion'

FARIDABAD: Haryana Police have registered a case against a shooting coach, Ankush Bhardwaj, accused of sexually assaulting an 17-year-old national-level woman shooter at a hotel in Faridabad last month.

Police said the athlete was a minor at the time of the alleged incident.




An FIR was filed on Tuesday at the Women’s Police Station in NIT Faridabad after a detailed complaint by the shooter’s family. Investigators said they are collecting CCTV footage from the hotel and recording statements of witnesses.

Based on the complaint, the case has been registered under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the FIR, the athlete was initially asked to wait in the hotel lobby after a training session but was later persuaded to go to the coach’s room on the pretext of a more focused discussion.

Once inside, the coach allegedly sexually assaulted her despite resistance. The complaint also alleges that he threatened to destroy her career and harm her family if she spoke about the incident.

The 17-year-old said in her complaint that while she was seated on a chair, Bharadwaj offered to relieve her back by “cracking” it.

The shooter reportedly left the hotel in a state of shock and later informed her family. She told police that she had been training under the coach since August last year and finally disclosed the incident to her mother on January 1 after repeated questioning.

The Suspension

Bhardwaj, a member of India’s shooting coaching staff, has been suspended by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) following the registration of the FIR, news agency PTI reported.

The NRAI confirmed that the case was filed in Faridabad.

“NRAI has suspended him and we will issue a show-cause notice,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told PTI. “He has been suspended on moral grounds. Now, he has to prove himself innocent. Till the inquiry is not completed, he will not be associated with any coaching activity,” he added.

Bhatia said Bhardwaj had been recommended by the NRAI for inclusion in the 37-member national coaching team after the Paris Olympics in 2024. “It was on the recommendation of the NRAI that he was appointed by SAI as one of the coaches. It is a case of sexual harassment which happened in Surajkund,” he said.

While the NRAI did not specify the exact date of the incident, the FIR states that the alleged assault took place last month following a training session at Delhi’s Karni Singh Shooting Range.

Bhardwaj, a former pistol shooter, had earlier served a doping ban in 2010 for using a beta-blocker during his competitive career.