Indian Men’s Hockey Defender Varun Kumar Accused Of Rape, Booked Under POCSO Act

Varu Kumar, who was in the standby list at Tokyo Olympics, is currently training with the national squad in Bhubaneswar.

New Delhi: Star Indian hockey player Varun Kumar has been accused of rape after a woman complained against the defender of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor. Varun has been booked under the stringent POCSO act by the Bengaluru Police. The complainant, who is currently 22, filed the complaint on Monday and stated to the police that Varun, an 2021 Arjuna Awardee, came in contact with her through Instagram. According to the woman, Varun raped her multiple times and promised her of marriage when she was 17. Varun had met the Bengaluru women when he was training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre. The Indian hockey star was recently promoted to a DSP in Punjab Police.

“Based on the complaint received from the woman, we have registered a case on Monday against the Hockey player under appropriate section of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code,” a senior Bengaluru Police officer said on Tuesday.

Having made his India debut in 2017, Varun grew his stature and a made a name for himself. He was in the standby list for the Tokyo Olympics and a member of the team that won the Commonwealth Games silver medal in 2022. However, Varun is currently with the Indian national team in Bhubaneswar for the upcoming FIH Pro League. India are scheduled to face Spain in their opening encounter on February 10.

Based on the complaint, Varun met the woman after they both started chatting on Instagram. The two eventually became friends and got into a relationship. According the woman, he took her to a hotel in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar in July 2019 and made physical relations with her despite being aware that she was a minor.

She said she had resisted but he promised to take their relationship a step further and marry her later. “She accused him of getting physical with her on several occasions over the five-year long relationship she shared with him on the pretext of marriage,” the FIR stated.

The woman alleged that he started distancing himself from her and stopped responding to her calls and messages after her father died last year. According to her FIR, Varun paid her a visit after the tragedy but stopped communicating after that.

She said that Varun resumed communication with her when she approached the police on a previous ocassion. However, he again distanced himself when she persisted on the topic of marriage. He then threatened to upload her photos on social media if she exerted pressure on him.