Para swimmer Shams Aalam Shaikh sent home from Asian Para Games in Japan over alleged sexual harassment

Indian para swimmer Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh has been sent home from the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, without competing, after Japanese police detained him over an alleged sexual harassment complaint, according to a senior Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) official quoted by The Times of India. The official, who is part of the Indian delegation in Nagoya, was not named in the report. The PCI is considering a lifetime ban, the newspaper reported.

Shaikh, 40, is from Bihar’s Madhubani district and is a former world No. 1 in the men’s 100m butterfly (S5) and 50m breaststroke (SB4), according to World Para Swimming records cited by The Times of India. He represented India at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta and won the 200m breaststroke at the Reykjavik International Games last year. Nagoya would have been his third straight Asian Para Games, The Tribune reported.

According to the PCI official quoted by The Times of India, the alleged incident took place on Monday, October 19, at the hotel where India’s para swimming team was staying. India Today, citing a source within the Indian delegation, gave the same account of when and where it allegedly happened. Shaikh was detained and taken to a local police station, and the authorities sought his arrest and wanted him formally presented before a court, the official said.

“The local organising committee (LOC) informed the chef-de-mission’s (CDM) office that an alleged sexual harassment and molestation incident had occurred at the hotel and that an Indian athlete had been detained by the local police,” the official told The Times of India.

The organising committee then stepped in, the official said. The Indian delegation was asked to give a written apology and to make sure the athlete left Japan. According to the official’s account, Shaikh was released after the apology was given and flew out of Nagoya at around 2 pm local time on Tuesday, October 20. The official said the hotel and the organisers wanted to know what action India would take, and warned that they could pursue formal legal proceedings if they were not satisfied.

The official also said he had seen the police paperwork. “The police authorities had clearly recorded the sexual offence allegation in their formal complaint, in Japanese. We can confirm that since I saw that,” he told The Times of India.

On what happens next, the official said the chef-de-mission’s office had already recommended a lifetime ban, and that a formal decision would be taken at a meeting in Delhi after the Games. The PCI has informed the government, according to The Times of India and NDTV. “Will announce a life ban for Shaikh after hearing him upon his landing in India,” a PCI official, who was not named, told NDTV.

Every account so far comes from officials or delegation sources who have not been named. As of Thursday afternoon, October 22, the PCI had not issued an on-the-record statement, though NDTV reported that one was expected soon. Japanese police have not commented publicly, and none of the reports carries a statement from Shaikh. There is no report that he has been charged with any offence. “The allegations have not been adjudicated, and any disciplinary action by the PCI is yet to be confirmed,” The Tribune noted. The Indian Idiot is not publishing any detail that could identify the person who made the complaint.