REVEALED: Identities of two individuals accused of raping Zimbabwean woman in Team India hotel

New Delhi: A major controversy erupted on Sunday after Zimbabwean media carried reports of an Indian cricketer being arrested on charges of rape.

After momentary panic, it was revealed that the accused was not a cricketer or team official but an Indian individual affiliated with the sponsors of the series.

According to a report in the Indian Express however, not one but two men were arrested by the Harare police in connection with the offense.

Krishna Satyanarayan, linked with ITW Sports, and Rajkumar Krishnan, a Zambia-based businessman were identified as the two individuals.

“Two Indian nationals, Krishna Satyanarayan, aged 33, and Rajkumar Krishnan were arrested on rape charges. The girl was based in South Africa and attending a funeral in Harare. She was staying at the same hotel as those two and alleged that she was raped by them. Police have confirmed that the woman was raped. The two accused were taken to court and remanded in custody yesterday. They will apply for bail in the High Court on Monday,” Charity Charamba, Senior Assistant Commissioner, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) told the newspaper.

The duo was staying at Meikles Hotel, where the incident occurred, confirmed the police. The confusion occurred since the Indian players too were put up at the same property.

“He (Krishna) is not from our company. He is from one of our affiliate companies (iTeamWorks). That company deals in ground activities. What I have heard is that he was arrested on alleged charges of molestation,” Interestingly, Murali Srinivasan, CEO of Technolog Frontier told IE.

Now that the matter has been resolved, MS Dhoni and his boys will be looking to level the T20I series 1-1 later in the day.