AIFF closes investigation into alleged harassment of women players by committee member
Apr 04, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 4 : The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said that it has closed the investigation into its suspended committee member Deepak Sharma for an "alleged harassment" of women players, as the victims and the other party "do not wish to pursue the matter any further".
The development came a day after an announcement came from the AIFF that the board had suspended Deepak Sharma until further notice.
In an official statement on Wednesday, AIFF said that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the All India Football Federation, which investigated the alleged harassment case recently, has come to the following conclusion, "The ICC is not in a position to continue the investigation as the alleged victim and the other party do not wish to pursue the matter any further."
"That the ICC would not be in a position to continue the investigation as any complaint and/or further information regarding the alleged incident has been denied by the concerned individuals.
That in view of the above, the investigation was concluded as withdrawn," AIFF further said.
Last week the federation issued a statement which read, "The AIFF was formally notified by players from Khad FC, participating in the IWL 2 in Goa, of certain incidents of alleged physical assault and harassment on them on Friday, March 29, 2024. In light of these allegations, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey called an emergent meeting of senior members of the AIFF to take stock of the situation and determine the next steps."
The Emergency Committee of the AIFF, comprising the President, Vice President and Treasurer, met on Monday to discuss the IWL 2 incident in Goa and complaints received from certain players against Deepak Sharma.
On Tuesday, the Executive Committee members met, and after a detailed discussion, the Executive Committee resolved to dissolve the Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Pinky Bompal Magar, formed on March 30, and to immediately refer the matter to the AIFF Disciplinary Committee.
Later, the AIFF Executive Committee decided to suspend Deepak from participating in any football-related activities until further notice.
