Cops probing rape charges against Nt'l table tennis player

The West Bengal police is probing a complaint by an 18-year-old-girl, who has accused National table tennis player and Olympian Soumyajit Ghosh of raping her after promising to marry her, an official said today.

The complaint has been lodged at the Barasat women's police station in North 24 Parganas district, which has booked 24-year-old Arjuna awardee under the IPC sections for rape, criminal conspiracy, causing miscarriage without the woman's consent and cheating, the police said.

"We have received a complaint against table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh yesterday and started a probe into the case. The investigation is at a nascent stage and nothing much can be said about it as of now," Barasat Additional Superintendent of Police Abhijit Banerjee said.

The teenager, a resident of Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, has alleged in her complaint that Ghosh raped her several times over the past three years on the pretext of marriage, another senior officer of the West Bengal police said.

In her complaint, the girl also said that she was forced to undergo an abortion by the Olympian at his Bagha Jatin flat in south Kolkata, the officer said.

"In her complaint, the girl claimed that the two of them met on a social networking site in 2014 and that the Olympian had promised to marry her after she turned 18," the officer said.

The national champion could not be contacted as his phone was found switched off.