Indore, October 25, 2025: Indian police have arrested a man accused of stalking and inappropriately touching two Australian cricketers participating in the ICC Women’s World Cup, officials said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning in the central city of Indore when the two players left their hotel to visit a nearby café, police officer Rajesh Dandotiya told AFP.
“We received a complaint from the Australian team’s security and immediately acted, registered a case, and identified the accused within six hours,” Dandotiya said.
Police said the 30-year-old suspect, who has a criminal record, followed the players for several hundred metres and made an inappropriate physical approach before being identified and detained.
Neither the players nor their team were named by authorities or Cricket Australia, which confirmed the incident in a brief statement.
“The matter was reported by team security to police, who are handling the matter,” Cricket Australia said.
According to The Times of India, one of the players sent a distress message to the team’s security manager saying, “There is a guy following us trying to grab us.” Team officials and local police quickly intervened, escorting the players safely back to their hotel.
A police case has been registered against the man for stalking and inappropriate behaviour under Indian law.
The incident occurred ahead of Australia’s Women’s World Cup group match against South Africa in Indore on Saturday.
While India has made progress in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, violence and harassment against women remain major concerns, with an average of nearly 90 rapes reported daily in 2022, according to official data.
