Goa Swimming Association's (GSA) swimming coach Surajit Ganguly, was booked by the Goa Police on Thursday for molesting a minor girl who is also a National Junior Gold Medallist. After a video alleging Ganguly of molestation surfaced online, Sports Minister Kiren Rijuju stepped in promptly and promised stringent action against the accused. Ganguly was then sacked from his position, and the GSA confirmed that his contract has been terminated with immediate effect.

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GSA Coach Sacked!

"We terminated Surajit's contract immediately after watching the video. Both the girl and coach are from Bengal," GSA Secretary Syed Abdul Majid told PTI. "We had appointed him because he had a good track record as a coach. There have been no prior complaints against him," he added. 

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Victim alleges Bengal Police refused to lodge a complaint

The victim who is absconding, alleged that she was mentally and physically tortured by Ganguly, during her six-month stay at Goa, where she was training under him. When her parents noticed a dip in her performance and persuaded her enough, she broke down and revealed the entire matter. They immediately returned to West Bengal and filed a police complaint there. The victim took to social media after the police station showed reluctance in lodging a complaint. Through a Facebook post, the girl revealed that her coach "touched" her and physically assaulted her and she intended to save other girls from such a situation. She also stated that the police authorities in her hometown in Bengal asked her to file a complaint with the Goa Police. 

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Sports Minister Promised Prompt Action

In a series of tweets earlier, Sports Minister Kiren Rijuju promised prompt and stringent action against the accused and also sacked Ganguly from his position of the coach after the pictures of the accused molesting surfaced online. Ganguly has been booked under Sections 376, 472, 354, 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 6 (8) of POCSO Act and Section 8 of Goa Children’s Act.

Ganguly was appointed by the GSA about two and a half years ago for its Mapusa facility.  Surajit Ganguly has won 12 medals in international swimming competitions and he bagged his first medal at the Asian Swimming Championships in Hong Kong in 1984. 

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