AGENCY
NEW DELHI: The Indian national who wasarrested for alleged rape in Zimbabwe, has been absolved ofall charges and released with immediate effect by the HighCourt there, his company claimed today.
The second-string Indian cricket team’s tour of Zimbabwewas struck by a controversy last Sunday after it emerged thattwo men have been arrested on charges of rape even as theofficials confirmed that none of the Indian cricketer wasinvolved in the incident.
One of the two arrested persons is an official associatedwith one of the sponsors of the series.
“The High Court Judge at Harare Justice Mawadze,Zimbabwe, after considering merits of the case found no reasonto continue to hold the Consultant of ITeamWorks, in custodyfor an alleged crime, and released him with immediate effect,”the company said in a statement.
It added, “The accused, being represented by Dumisani Mthombeni and Hon Jonathan Samukange, claimed innocence andjudiciary release was based on the support, cooperation andevidence presented by the accused parties.” The storm erupted after the Zimbabwean media reported that an unnamed Indian cricketer had been arrested on charges of rape.
The reports stated that India’s ambassador to the African nation, R Masakui, had tried to prevent the player’s arrest at a
Harare hotel.
However, Masakui out rightly rejected the media speculation by clarifying that the people arrested were not associated with the Indian cricket squad, which is currently engaged in a limited-overs series against Zimbabwe.
The BCCI had also stepped in to clarify that none of its players or officials were involved in the alleged incident.(PTI)
