Asian Games gold medalist Pinki Pramanik joins BJP

Asian Games gold medalist Pinki Pramanik on Thursday joined BJP, party president in Bengal Dilip Ghosh said. "From today onwards Pinki is part of the BJP family," Ghosh said after handing her the BJP flag. Pinki was a member of the Asian Games gold medal and Commonwealth Games silver medal-winning quartet in the 400m relay event in 2006.

In 2012, Pinki was embroiled in a gender controversy when her woman friend accused her of rape and gender misrepresentation. She was kept in custody for 25 days and was made to undergo sex verification tests to confirm her gender.

She was cleared of rape charges by Calcutta High Court in 2014 and had resumed her work in Eastern Railway. Arjuna awardee Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, who had represented the CPI-M in the 14th Lok Sabha, had joined the saffron party earlier this year.

(Image Credits: Twitter/@KhanSaumitra)