The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has strongly condemned the recent incident involving Australian cricketers in Indore. In an official statement, BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia described the episode as“deeply regrettable and isolated,” emphasising India's reputation for warmth, hospitality, and care towards all visitors.

Saikia added that the board maintains "a zero-tolerance policy towards such acts" and praised the swift action of the Madhya Pradesh Police in apprehending the accused.

“The law will take its due course to ensure justice is served,” he said. "We will also review our existing safety protocols and strengthen them further, if necessary, to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”

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Indian police earlier arrested a man accused of stalking and inappropriately touching two Australian cricketers participating in the ICC Women's World Cup.

The incident happened in the central Indian city of Indore on Thursday morning when the two players left their hotel to go to a cafe, said police officer Rajesh Dandotiya.

"We received a complaint from the Australian team security and immediately acted, registered a case and identified the accused within six hours," Dandotiya said.

Violence against women remains a chronic issue in the world's most populous country, where an average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022.

Dandotiya said the 30-year-old man who was arrested has a criminal record. The man followed the players and approached them "for a bad touch" about 800 metres from their hotel.

The two players were not identified by Indian police or Cricket Australia, which confirmed the incident.

"The matter was reported by team security to police, who are handling the matter," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

(Inputs from AFP)

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