Reacting to the charges of physical assault on women footballers by Deepak Sharma, an executive committee member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Valanka Alemao, the chairperson of the AIFF Women’s Committee, said that the federation was taking all possible steps to ensure justice.
The incident happened on the night of March 28 while the team was in Mapusa, Goa, playing in the Indian Women’s League 2. Deepak, under the influence of alcohol, allegedly barged into the girls’ room and physically assaulted two players.
AIFF top official Deepak arrested after allegedly assaulting women footballers
After the victims filed an FIR at the local police station on Saturday, the accused was arrested under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint). Deepak, however, was granted bail by the police on Sunday.
“These girls have to get justice. We have already started the inquiry and Mr Deepak Sharma has gone for the medical test. I don’t know the report yet. I myself went to the police station and I spoke and I told him that everything should be checked because we have to make a safe environment for girls,” Alemao told Sportstar.
“There has to be a standard operating procedure, and we have to see that it is implemented in our country for girls to come and play.”
Sportstar had first reported that Deepak was the only male travelling with the team from Himachal Pradesh and was under the influence of alcohol when the team reached Goa.
On Thursday, he assaulted two players in an inebriated state, following the team’s 0-3 loss to Tuem FC, earlier that day.
Valanka said that despite being from Goa, she was made aware of the incident only through the AIFF complaint, following a call from M. Satyanarayana, the acting general secretary of AIFF and that the Goa Football Association (GFA) never formally called her up.
“Luckily, I had one player who had played for Churchill Brothers last year. I got in touch with her and she gave me the exact location of the villa, where the team were staying,” she said.
“I rushed to the place, which was about one hour and 30 minutes from my house. In about 45 minutes, I got a call from the same girl, saying, ‘Ma’am, we have a match tomorrow. Deepak sir is saying you come tomorrow (Saturday) morning.’”
“I said that I was not coming to meet him but someone else and it was very necessary. And I kept the Secretary-General in the loop,” she added.
Alemao said that she met the victims and suggested they file an FIR immediately and that she was ready to go to the police station with them. But they were unsure initially.
“There was no molestation as such. Maybe, they were not comfortable talking to me, but they were saying that he slapped them,” she said.
“They said that they were not ready to play tomorrow and I said, of course, if you’re not in a state of mind, how will you play?”
Khad, without the two victims, played its final group-stage match against City Bahadurgarh FC, which played with just eight players available in the squad, with the match ending 3-0 in favour of the team from Himachal Pradesh.
“I was shocked that the GFA, after knowing everything, could go ahead with the match the next day.”
The AIFF, under president Kalyan Chaubey, called an emergency meeting on Saturday, to plan the next course of action in the case. Alemao was one of the six who attended the meeting, which set up a three-member committee to investigate the issue.
“The federation is totally and seriously looking into it. For now, we have suspended Mr Deepak Sharma from all kinds of footballing activities in India until and unless the probe is complete and once the probe is complete, the wrongdoer will be punished, whoever it is,” Alemao said.
The women’s committee chairperson further stated that the federation has ensured a safe passage home for the affected players, separate from the team.
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