Chandigarh-Mohali jumped to the national scene as soon as the Haryana Police booked national shooting coach Ankush Bhardwaj under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Faridabad.

Bhardwaj, who stays at a rented flat in Mohali’s Sector 99 One Rise Society, is the husband of Olympian shooter Anjum Moudgil, a famous name in the local shooting fraternity.

The minor victim is a student of a Chandigarh-based famous college, who got inducted to the college through centralised admission procedure.

Rumours did the rounds for the entire day about the arrest of Bhardwaj from his Sector 99 resident.

However, till the filing of the report, no arrest was made. Rather, the society’s people claimed that Bhardwaj and his family were not seen in the society on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the local shooting fraternity was in a state of shock after hearing the allegations against Bhardwaj.

The national shooting coach is also part of the Salvo Shooting Academy and last May, the couple started a venture featuring wellness centre and rehab club in Mohali.

Bhardwaj used to train shooters at various places, including Chandigarh and Mohali, and those in the fraternity claims having good memories working with him.

“It’s really shocking. I don’t know what exactly happened, but this is an utter shock. In the past, there was no complaint against him and the couple is known for their good behaviour with everyone,” said a shooting coach.

“He trained various kids in Chandigarh and Mohali, this news is really shocking,” added another coach, who didn’t wish to be named. Even the residents of the society maintained the same. “There was no such objectionable behaviour by him during his stay,” claimed a resident.

Bhardwaj, a national pistol coach appointed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), was among a select group of 13 experts dedicated to training India’s elite shooting athletes.

His responsibilities included mentoring young shooters during prominent events. He has been accused of sexual assault by a 17-year-old national shooter, a resident of Noida, who has also won medals in national meets. Her mother also alleged that another female shooter also experienced similar behaviour, but the allegations are yet to be investigated.

As per the FIR, the incident took place at a famous hotel in New Delhi during the National Level Shooting Competition at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

The complaint stated that Bhardwaj allegedly assaulted the young shooter in a hotel room, before asking her to write the tournament’s analysis first at the venue and then at the hotel’s lobby, under the pretext of evaluating her performance.

It further alleged that he threatened to ruin her career and harm her family if she spoke to anyone about the incident, before dropping her to the parking lot.

The incident reportedly occurred on December 16 afternoon, and after the victim approached her family recently, an official complaint was lodged with the police.a