AIFF official Deepak Sharma arrested for assaulting two women footballers

Goa police on Saturday (Mar 30) evening arrested All India Football Federation (AIFF) official Deepak Sharma over the complaint alleging physical assault on two women footballers, hours after the sports ministry took cognisance of the issue.

Sharma has been accused of the assault whilst being drunk. The shocking development came to light after the alleged victims filed a complaint with the AIFF's competitions committee. 

"AIFF executive committee member Deepak Sharma was called for questioning during the day after a formal complaint was received. He was arrested by Mapusa police under various sections, including causing hurt, using force against women, among others," Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandesh Chodankar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Sharma will remain in custody for the night before being produced in court on Sunday for remand, the police officials informed. 

The complaint filed by Palak Verma and Ritika Thakur alleges that Sharma entered their room in an inebriated state, while they were boiling eggs for dinner. The high-ranking official then allegedly slapped both of them after getting offended.

Notably, Verma and Thakur are part of the women's team that is currently in Goa to take part in the Women’s League 2 -- the second division of women’s football in India. Both the footballers play for Khad FC, a team from the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. 

Khad FC had filed the complaint at the Mapusa Police Station after which the authorities took note and registered a case under sections 323,341 and 354A of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly known as IPC). 

Earlier in the day, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the ministry had taken note of the incident and directed AIFF to look into the matter. 

“All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been directed to take quick action and ensure the safety and security of our footballers. The ministry has further directed AIFF to take strong legal action and inform the ministry about actions taken. The safety and security of players are our utmost priority,” Thakur said.

Meanwhile, Sharma refuted the allegations, claiming it was a small issue which had been blown out of proportion. 

“It is all baseless. Someone is trying to provoke them and create an issue out of nothing. She just got eggs from outside around 11 pm. I just scolded her over timings. It was a small issue," Sharma was quoted as saying by India Today.

“It happened on March 28 evening. My wife was with me as well when the incident happened. I had a conversation with AIFF as well and briefed them about everything. There is nothing serious about it,” he added.

Quizzed about the accusations, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey played it safe, saying proper guidelines would be followed to investigate the matter as it was necessary to "hear both sides".