National archery coach gets 5-yr jail in POCSO case

Sonipat : A fast track special court has sentenced national level archery coach Kuldeep Vedwan to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in a POCSO Act case related to the molestation of a minor girl archer during a youth championships meet in April 2023.

Vedwan, 42, a native of Baghpat district, had been associated with India’s national archery set-up and was known nurturing para-archery talents, including Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag. Before the allegations surfaced, Vedwan used to personally coach Sheetal during her formative years at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board archery academy in Katra, Jammu. According to sources, there’s disquiet in certain quarters that Vedwan’s wife Abhilasha Chaudhary name has been recommended by the selection committee for this year’s Dronacharya Award despite objections.







According to the prosecution, the complainant — now a national-level archer — had arrived at the SAI Sonipat centre in April 2023 to participate in a youth championships trials organised by the Archery Association of India (AAI). The minor alleged that around 4am on April 7, 2023, Vedwan entered her hotel room and attempted to sexually assault her while she was asleep. She woke up and resisted, telling investigators that the struggle continued for nearly 15 to 20 minutes before the coach fled the room.

Traumatised, she rushed to another room occupied by fellow female archers. The athlete alleged that later, Vedwan apologised to her and pleaded with her not to disclose the incident, saying his “life and career would be ruined”.

According to the complaint, the coach allegedly continued pressuring her during subsequent hotel stays and insisted that she stay in his room. He allegedly promised to make her a “big player” if she cooperated with him.”
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