Goa swimming coach, accused of rape, arrested in Delhi

Swimming coach Surajit Ganguly, who has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl who was training with him, was arrested in New Delhi on Friday, a senior police official said. Superintendent of Police (North) Utkrisht Prasoon told PTI that Ganguly was held in New Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate area. Goa Police on Thursday registered a case of rape against Ganguly, who was employed with the Goa Swimming Association (GSA). He had been untraceable since.

Prasoon said the girl’s father had first approached Rishra Police Station in Hoogly district of West Bengal with the complaint against the coach. Both the girl and the accused hail from West Bengal. The complaint said the incident had happened at Mapusa in Goa.

After the complaint was filed, North Goa District Police immediately sprang into action, the complaint was obtained through e-mail, and a first information report (FIR) was immediately registered at Mapusa police station, the SP said. Ganguly’s movements were tracked using technical surveillance and local intelligence, Prasoon said.

“It was found that the accused was traveling to different cities to evade arrest,” he added. A case of rape, molestation and criminal intimidation under the IPC, as well as for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against Ganguly at Mapusa police station on Thursday.

A purported video of the crime had gone viral on social media, prompting Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju to promise a stringent action against him. The Goa Swimming Association also sacked him. On Friday, the Swimming Federation Of India banned Ganguly from all activities related to the sport.

“Based on a report filed with the SFI’s Goa unit and corroborated by evidence on social media, the SFI condemns this heinous behaviour and has banned this coach from any form of coaching or other activities related to the sport across India. Circular to this effect is issued to all its 29 state units,” the federation said in a statement.