A cricket coach from the Thiruvananthapuram district cricket academy was arrested on June 12 for sexually abusing a minor in 2019. His arrest prompted more victims to come forward. The parents of five girls, who were being coached by him under the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), have filed a petition in the High Court seeking a fair investigation into the sexual abuse allegations.
Following his arrest, five other girls accused the coach of similar misconduct. He had previously worked at the district cricket academy in Thiruvananthapuram.
Recently, the KCA recommended revoking his certification from the BCCI-affiliated National Cricket Academy and advised all cricket associations in India against hiring him as a coach.
In their petition to the Kerala HC, the parents alleged the involvement of others and suspected mafia links. They claimed that videos and photos of the children were taken and uploaded on websites for commercial gain. They also feared that the coach and his associates might have taken nude photographs of the victims with criminal intent.
The mother of one victim described how her daughter’s abnormal behavior led to suspicions about the coach. The girl eventually revealed the abuse in 2019 after encountering the coach again in Thiruvananthapuram.
After his arrest on June 12, more girls and their parents came forward with allegations of sexual harassment during coaching sessions in 2020 and 2021. The coach allegedly took nude photos of the girls under the pretext of assessing their physical fitness.
KCA president Jayesh George denied shielding the coach, stating that they were unaware of the complaints until last month. He admitted that the coach had faced a similar case in 2022, which resulted in his suspension from coaching duties. Despite some students and parents advocating for his return, the association refused to reinstate him. The previous case was eventually dismissed after support from students and parents.
However, George acknowledged a lapse in the KCA’s actions and said they should have conducted an internal investigation after the coach’s earlier acquittal.
Another parent disclosed that the coach had a history of harassing girls and had taken them unsupervised to tournaments in Tamil Nadu. Concerns about his behavior led some parents to withdraw their daughters from coaching in recent months.
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