She is a man: ace athlete’s partner
15 Jun 2012 2:59 AM GMT
The Asian Games gold medal-winning athlete Pinki Pramanik was detained by the police after a complaint was made that she is a male and has allegedly raped a woman, the police said on Thursday.
'Pramanik has been detained after we received a complaint by a woman who said the athlete is a man and accused him of torturing, raping and trying to kill her,' said Subrata Bandyopadhyay, deputy commissioner, Bidhannagar Commissionerate, North 24 Parganas. 'We approached the court on Thursday seeking permission for medical test to determine the gender of the athlete and the same has been granted,' added Bandyopadhyay.
The alleged victim, a divorced mother of one, who had been cohabiting with Pramanik for last several months, has alleged in her complaint that the athlete had coerced her in a live-in relationship with the promise of marriage. She alleged that she was often beaten, tortured and raped frequently.
Following the complaint, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports showed that the athlete was indeed a male. 'The reports conducted by us show that Pramanik is a male,' said Subrata Mukherjee of Uma Nursing Home, where the test was conducted.
The athlete reportedly refused to undergo a second test at a government hospital and claimed it was a conspiracy to frame her. 'It's a clear case of conspiracy,' said Pramanik, adding that she took part in major international events where medical tests to determine her gender had already been done. The middle-distance runner won gold in 4x400m relay at 2006 Doha Asiad, besides bagging a silver in the same event at 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Pramanik also bagged three golds at 2006 SAF Games in Colombo when she won the 400m, 800m and 4x400m relay events. Now a ticket collector with Eastern Railway, Pramanik retired from athletics three years back.
The incident also shocked the sport's governing body. 'I am totally shocked. She has participated in major international events where medical tests are mandatory. I agree that gender verification test is a complex process but how can people go wrong everywhere? Pramanik also had a medical [examination] done before joining Railways,' said West Bengal Athletics Association secretary Kamal Moitra.
The association has called an executive committee meeting on Friday to decide the future course of action. 'If it is medically proved that Pramanik is not a female, then we will be left with very little ground to pursue the case,' added Moitra.
'Pramanik has been detained after we received a complaint by a woman who said the athlete is a man and accused him of torturing, raping and trying to kill her,' said Subrata Bandyopadhyay, deputy commissioner, Bidhannagar Commissionerate, North 24 Parganas. 'We approached the court on Thursday seeking permission for medical test to determine the gender of the athlete and the same has been granted,' added Bandyopadhyay.
The alleged victim, a divorced mother of one, who had been cohabiting with Pramanik for last several months, has alleged in her complaint that the athlete had coerced her in a live-in relationship with the promise of marriage. She alleged that she was often beaten, tortured and raped frequently.
Following the complaint, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports showed that the athlete was indeed a male. 'The reports conducted by us show that Pramanik is a male,' said Subrata Mukherjee of Uma Nursing Home, where the test was conducted.
The athlete reportedly refused to undergo a second test at a government hospital and claimed it was a conspiracy to frame her. 'It's a clear case of conspiracy,' said Pramanik, adding that she took part in major international events where medical tests to determine her gender had already been done. The middle-distance runner won gold in 4x400m relay at 2006 Doha Asiad, besides bagging a silver in the same event at 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Pramanik also bagged three golds at 2006 SAF Games in Colombo when she won the 400m, 800m and 4x400m relay events. Now a ticket collector with Eastern Railway, Pramanik retired from athletics three years back.
The incident also shocked the sport's governing body. 'I am totally shocked. She has participated in major international events where medical tests are mandatory. I agree that gender verification test is a complex process but how can people go wrong everywhere? Pramanik also had a medical [examination] done before joining Railways,' said West Bengal Athletics Association secretary Kamal Moitra.
The association has called an executive committee meeting on Friday to decide the future course of action. 'If it is medically proved that Pramanik is not a female, then we will be left with very little ground to pursue the case,' added Moitra.
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