FIR against hockey player Varun Kumar for allegedly cheating woman volleyball player

BENGALURU: An FIR has been registered against Team India Hockey defender Varun Kumar at the Jnanabharati police station for allegedly cheating a woman after being in a physical relationship with her when she was a minor and promising to marry her.

Varun Kumar got to know the woman through Instagram while he was undergoing training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility under Jnanabharati police limits. He had allegedly pursued the woman, who was then 17 years old, to become his girlfriend and developed physical intimacy with her after promising to marry her.

The victim alleged that Varun Kumar, who had been in contact her since 2019, had raped her several times for five years and now cheated her by not marrying her.

As per the woman’s complaint, Varun is now opposed to getting married and suggested continuing their friendship like earlier. He also asked her to marry another man and not interfere in his life. He threatened her with leaking their private photos and videos if she disturbed him again, the complaint said.

The accused Varun Kumar, originally hails from Himachal Pradesh and then shifted to Punjab for hockey. Varun, who joined the Indian team in 2017, won a silver medal in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, a gold medal in the Asian Games 2022, and a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The Himachal Pradesh government had given a Rs 1 crore cash prize for winning a bronze medal in the Olympics. Varun Kumar is also the recipient of the Arjuna Award for the year 2021.

After the allegation of rape on the pretext of love and the promise of marriage, and an FIR has been registered against him under POCSO Act, for rape and fraud. The Jnanabharati police are looking for Varun in Jalandhar.