Police escort Australia women cricketer and her wife to cafe after Indore molestation incident

Police escort Australia women cricketer and wife to cafe after Indore molestation incident (Photo: Instagram)

Days after the Indore molestation incident involving two women cricketers, Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and her wife Monica gave a glimpse of security arrangement at Navi Mumbai, where the team is scheduled to meet India in the second semifinal on Thursday (October 30). Monica shared a selfie of the couple in a cab being followed by two police personnel and captioned: "Police escort to the cafe".

In the wake of the molestation incident, security has been heightened in Navi Mumbai for the remaining fixtures of the marquee event. The city will host two of the remaining three games, including the final at the DY Patil Stadium.

On October 23, two Australian cricketers left their team hotel to go to a cafe in Indore. During the outing, they were allegedly "inappropriately touched" by a motorcycle-borne man. An FIR was filed under Section 74 (use of criminal force to outrage a woman's modesty) and Section 78 (stalking) after the incident was reported by the Australian team management. And after a six-hour strategic operation, Madhya Pradesh police apprehended the culprit, Aqueel Sheikh.

“Since the very first day that is, from October 18th, when practice started here, we have deployed guards at all the hotels where the women players are staying. Apart from that, whenever the team travels from the stadium to the hotel or vice versa, we provide them with an escort. Here on the ground, we have deployed approximately 600 personnel, comprising 75 officers and the remainder as police constables. In addition, if any player wants to go out, they must inform us, and we provide them with protection as well,” a senior police officer in Maharashtra Police told India Today.

In addition to promising round-the-clock security to players, the cricketers are advised to notify the team hotel before leaving.

“After learning about the incident, actually, we were already taking precautions from the beginning, but sometimes what happens is that players go out without informing the police, and that creates a problem. If they inform us beforehand, we ensure their protection,” he added.

The MIG Police Station placed the accused, Aqeel, on two days of remand after he was detained on Sunday in relation to the alleged molestation incident. His prior criminal history was disclosed by the police. Sections 74 and 78 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) have been invoked to book the accused.