Ahead of the first quarterfinal match of the ICC Women's World Cup between Australia and New Zealand in Indore today, two Australian cricketers faced a shameless act of molestation in a public space.
The two players were walking outside Hotel Radisson Blu (where the team is staying) to the Neighborhood Cafe. Just 500 m away on the Kahajrana Road, they were allegedly followed by a bike rider dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans with a black cap, who also touched them inappropriately. They reached out to Danny Simmons, the Australian team's security officer, telling him about the incident and sharing their live location and SOS. Simmons immediately contacted MIG Police.
ACP Himani Mishra, along with officer Nidhi Raghuvanshi, quickly rushed to meet the players and registered an FIR against the accused. The entire matter was taken seriously by Police Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh, resulting in the accused's arrest on Friday evening.
According to media reports, the accused, Akil, is a resident of Khajrana. Notably, this is not the first; Akil has many criminal charges against him. Currently, he is staying in the Azad Nagar locality.
Akil was identified through CCTV footage of the hotel and Ring Road. Four teams were formed of police stations, including Vijay Nagar, MIG, Khajrana, Pardesipura, and Kanadiya, at the direction of Commissioner Singh. Nearly 250 camera footages were scrolled through the whole night, after which the police could identify and arrest the accused.
The incident reveals the ignorant attitude of the police as well as the administration. A high-profile hotel like Radisson Blu, where international players are staying for an ICC event, and there were no proper security arrangements. No female security staff was deployed, nor was a security escort provided. Following the shameless incident, Commissioner Singh reprimanded Vijay Nagar Station in-charge Chandrakant Patel and Intelligence unit officials.
The question is, why were the players allowed to walk alone in the first place? Such security lapses are unacceptable and call for action. Moreover, this sort of a shameless act is a plight on India at the global stage.