Aussie IPL cricketer Pomersbach arrested on assault charges

Saturday, 19 May 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach has been arrested on molestation and assault charges, a senior Delhi Police official said on Friday.

The 27-year-old was alleged to have molested a woman and physically attacked her male friend in a city hotel during a party after Pomersbach’s Bangalore team had beaten Delhi in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Thursday.

“A case has been registered... Luke is in custody and will be produced in the court,” additional commissioner of police K.C. Dwivedi told the CNN-IBN television channel.

“The lady complained he molested her and after he left the room, he came back again and tried to force his entry into the room,” he added.

The woman and her friend are undergoing treatment in a city hospital.

Attended by celebrities from the world of cricket and showbusiness, IPL post-match parties have drawn criticism but league chairman Rajeev Shukla said the body no longer has anything to do with the events.

“IPL is not hosting any party. We have done away with this concept of hosting parties,” Shukla told reporters.

“Let the law take its course and police decide, it’s about the behaviour of an individual player,” he added.

Pomersbach, who played his only Twenty20 International against New Zealand in 2007, has not been part of the Bangalore playing XI this season.

The incident follows Kolkata franchisee owner and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s altercation on Wednesday with the Wankhede Stadium officials in Mumbai, who have banned him from entering the ground for next five years.

Earlier on Tuesday, five uncapped Indian cricketers were provisionally suspended following allegations of corruption in the lucrative Twenty20 League.