Former national shooting coach Ankush Bhardwaj, who faces allegations of sexually exploiting a minor trainee, has been declared a 'proclaimed offender' by the Faridabad court for failing to join the investigation, police said on Friday.
An FIR has been registered against him at Surajkund Police Station, they said.
According to the police, Bhardwaj had received interim relief from the Supreme Court on April 27 against his arrest and was asked to join the investigation two days later.
When he failed to join the investigation, his interim bail was cancelled, and the police submitted a report to the court on his persistent absence.
An officer said that the court directed that a notice be issued to the SHO of the concerned police station, where Bhardwaj was booked, to obtain full details of his assets for attachment under Section 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Bharadwaj was booked at the women's police station, NIT, Faridabad, on January 6 over allegations of sexually harassing a 17-year-old national-level shooter.
He was subsequently suspended by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
According to the complaint, the alleged assault took place on December 16, 2025, while the shooter was training for a national event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in Delhi.
The victim, in her complaint, said Bhardwaj first asked her to meet him in the lobby of a hotel in the Surajkund area of Faridabad to analyse her match performance.
When she came, Bhardwaj allegedly coerced her into coming up to his room and sexually assaulted her there.
She said the coach also threatened to sabotage her sporting career and harm her family if she told anyone about it.
Days later, she told her mother about the incident and a police complaint was filed.
Bhardwaj, a resident of Mohali, Punjab, was booked under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 351(2) of the BNS.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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