Updated May 18, 2012 21:24:13
Indian police have arrested Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach for allegedly molesting a woman and beating up her fiance in a New Delhi hotel.
The 27-year-old batsman, who played once for Australia's Twenty20 side, is playing in the Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, which took on the Delhi Daredevils on Thursday night.
The cricketer is accused of trying to molest a 27-year-old woman during a party at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel on Thursday night.
"The couple had met Luke Pomersbach at a party and they all went to a room in the hotel for drinks after the party," investigating police officer KC Dwivedi said.
"It is here that Luke Pomersbach assaulted the woman.
"The fiance tried to push the cricketer out of the room, who retaliated by hitting him in the face."
The alleged victim told the Times Now news channel that Pomersbach had "tagged along" with her and her Mumbai-based fiance and had suddenly grabbed her while they drank together in their hotel room.
"My fiance said, 'hey listen, you shouldn't treat any girl like that. Why don't you just leave...'
"When he said that, he (Pomersbach) turned around and started hitting him. He hit him so many times, punched him on his face, that ... he got injured in his ear."
The fiance is in a stable condition in a private New Delhi hospital, but was complaining about losing hearing in his left ear, doctors said.
Pomersbach, from Perth in Western Australia, was later seen leaving a different hospital, where he was taken for a check-up by police with his right hand heavily bandaged.
Royal Challengers Bangalore team manager Avinash Vaidya declined to comment on the incident since "the matter was being handled by the police".
Pomersbach avoided a jail sentence in Australia in 2009 after admitting to assaulting a police officer who was trying to arrest him for drink driving.
Last year he was released at his own request from commitments with Western Australia and Perth Scorchers citing depression.
On arriving in India, Pomersbach declared himself "on top of things", adding: "I went down that path and made a few bad decisions, but I've learnt a lot from them."
If convicted for molestation or assault, which are both bailable offences, he faces either a fine or a maximum of two years in jail.
Royal Challengers Bangalore team manager Avinash Vaidya declined to comment on the incident since "the matter was being handled by the police".
Pomersbach has not featured for Bangalore in this season's IPL, which has again hit the headlines for the wrong reasons and is being dubbed the "Indian Problem League" by some commentators.
Earlier this week, five Indian players signed to IPL teams were suspended after an undercover TV report alleged they were prepared to take money for spot-fixing, an illegal practice in which parts of the game are fixed.
On Wednesday night, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, was involved in an ugly late-night row with officials at Mumbai's main cricket stadium.
Khan faces a five-year ban from the ground and a police investigation for allegedly abusing security staff. He denies allegations he was drunk and says he was protecting a group of children he was accompanying.
The annual IPL tournament also faces allegations of massive corporate corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as well as secret deals to hide teams' real owners and even links to India's criminal underworld.
AFP
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wa First posted May 18, 2012 16:40:17
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