Who is Pinki Pramanik?

Kolkata: Till recently, Pinki Pramanik was known as an Indian female athlete who had won top honours for India at various athletics events - including a gold medal at the Asian Games. She's now in the news for all the wrong reasons - allegedly raping her girlfriend, who claims that Pinki is actually a man.

Ms Pramanik was arrested on June 14 in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, where she has lived for the last few years, and was remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court a day later.

The police took her to a private nursing home where reports, according to local media, showed that she has both male and female reproductive organs. The athlete will undergo a gender determination test at a government hospital on Monday, police said.

An employee with the Eastern Railway, she has now been suspended due to the allegations. Ms Pramanik's suspension can only be revoked if the court absolves her of all the charges.
 
Born on April 10, 1986, Ms Pramanik, who hails from West Bengal, made her international debut at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics where she reached the 800 metres semi-finals. She was hailed as the successor of legendary sprinter PT Usha after she won medals at various national and international events. She won gold in 4X400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar along with Sathi Geetha, Chitra Soman and Manjeet Kaur. She also won a silver medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year with Rajwinder Kaur, Chitra Soman, and Manjeet Kaur in 4X400 metres relay race.
 
She wanted to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but a hamstring injury dashed her dreams. She retired three years ago.
 
Ms Pramanik was also arrested in 2004 when a single shot improvised gun was recovered from her possession. Since she belongs to Purulia in West Bengal, an area home to Naxal insurgency, she was investigated for links to the Naxals, but was later cleared of all charges.

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