Rape-accused Indian awarded cheque at match presentation ceremony in Zimbabwe

One of the two Indian nationals arrested on charges of rape in Harare recently was present during the post-match presentation ceremony following the third One-Day International (ODI) between India and Zimbabwe on Wednesday. Krishna Satyanarayana Gandlur, a consultant for iTeamWorks, one of the sponsors of the ongoing series, had presented the cheque for ‘Player of the Match’ to Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah following India’s crushing 10-wicket victory over the hosts, which completed a 3-0 series win. Gandlur, described as a co-founder of ITW Sports in a press release issued by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at the Meikles Hotel in the Zimbabwean capital, where the Indian team is currently staying. Ravi Krishnan, a Zambian businessman of Indian origin, is a co-accused in the rape case. [caption id=“attachment_2386562” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Manish Pandey. AP[/caption] According to a report in The Indian Express, the accused, following the arrests, have applied for bail at a magistrates court through a defence attorney. They are now set to approach the High Court. Initial reports suggested that an Indian cricketer was involved in the crime. However, both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied the involvement of anyone from the Indian cricket contingent in Zimbabwe soon after the reports began doing the rounds. The identities of the accused, as well as news of their arrest, was confirmed by Charity Charamba, senior assistant commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. Charamba added that the victim was a South African national who was in Harare to attend a funeral. The Indian cricket team is currently in Zimbabwe for a limited-overs tour featuring three ODIs and as many Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). While the tourists swept the 50-over series 3-0, they lost the first match of the T20I series by a narrow two-run margin, before levelling the series with a 10-wicket win. The final game of the tour is to be played on Wednesday.