POCSO case against Indian hockey player Varun Kumar for raping teen on pretext of marriage

Bengaluru: The city police have registered a POCSO case against India's hockey player Varun Kumar for allegedly cheating a Hyderabad-based volleyball player in the name of marriage.

The complainant alleged that Varun got acquainted with her on social media got physically intimate with her and promised to marry her. She was then 17 years old and was undergoing volleyball training at the Sports Authority of India (South Division) in 2016-17.

In 2019, the complainant accused Varun of taking her to Jayanagar in Bengaluru on the pretext of dinner and forced physical contact with her in 2019.

Varun is an international player, who was a part of the Indian contingent that won silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

He was also part of Team India which won gold in the 2022 Asian Games and bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also made his debut for India in 2017 and is an inhabitant of Himachal Pradesh.

The victim also accused Varun of having physical contact with her for five years from time to time. Varun visited her house last year on her father's death, and thereafter he did not contact her even once, she alleged.

The Himachal Pradesh government announced Rs 1 crore in recognition of his contribution as a hockey player after the team got bronze in the Olympics.