According to a New Zimbabwe report, the incident took place at Meikles hotel where the Indian team is currently staying.

Charity Charamba, Assistant Police Commisioner confirmed that one of the Indian national is involved in the crime.

“The victim has pointed an Indian national from the batch that came in last week, at this point I’m not in the position to reveal whether it’s a player or official as I’m bound by law. But, what I can confirm is that the accused appeared in court on Saturday,” Charamba said as quoted by the paper.

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Related read: Indian cricketer booked for harassing female friend

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Sources from the hotel said that the victim who was taking a stroll in the lobby was allegedly drugged and physically abused. The victim claimed that she woke up to bloodied undergarments in one of the Indian cricketer’s room.  “She also said that she had no clue on how she reached the room,” the source said.

“We have concluded our investigation, but both the police and courts have to handle the issue with care as it can lead to a potential diplomatic feud,” Charamba added.

According to Times of India, the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has refused to comment, claiming that it is yet to ascertain the exact facts of the issue. “We are keeping a close watch on the development. It is a serious issue. Being aware of the sensitive nature of the issue, the BCCI won’t make comments without ascertaining facts,” said a top BCCI official on condition of anonymity.

 

Indian ambassador tried to protect the guilty cricketer?

The New Zimbabwe further reported citing its source that the Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe was seen at the hotel trying to prevent player’s arrest or broker out-of-court settlement with the woman.

 

 

India is touring Zimbabwe, where they whitewashed them in the ODI series. However, they lost the T20 match against them yesterday by 2 runs.

India squad for the Zimbabwe tour is:

-MS Dhoni (captain)

-Jasprit Bumrah

-Yuzvendra Chahal

-Rishi Dhawan

-Faiz Fazal

-Kedar Jadhav

-Dhawal Kulkarni

-Mandeep Singh

-Karun Nair

-Manish Pandey

-Lokesh Rahul

-Ambati Rayudu

-Axar Patel

-Jaydev Unadkat

-Jayant Yadav

It is suspected that the player accused of raping a woman was one among the above mentioned players. Three players namely Jayant Yadav, Faiz Fazal, Barinder Sran and Karun Nair were not part of the playing XI in first T20 match. However, police have not named whether any of the these three players was held.