An Instagram post on a TEDx speech given by a junior athletics coach in Karnataka has led to a controversy with a senior coach and his wife questioning her credentials and a police complaint being filed against them for allegedly threatening her. Karnataka junior athletics coach Bindu Rani filed a police complaint against senior coach Yatish Kumar and his wife Shwetha after the latter barged into Bengaluru’s Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Monday evening and threatened her, accusing her of giving false information about her titles and medals. The Sampangi Rama Nagar police subsequently registered a case against Yatish and Shwetha under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, invoking charges of wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation, among others. The incident came to light after a video of Shwetha brandishing a slipper and threatening Bindu Rani went viral on social media. Bindu had allegedly threatened Yatish for questioning her athletic achievements on social media following an Instagram post on her TEDx speech. On 30 June, Bindu Rani, on invitation, visited Krupanidhi College to give a speech organised by TEDx. A post, purportedly created by TEDx, stated that Bindu Rani had won over 200 medals, including the Khel Ratna. Yatish shared Bindu’s re-post of this post in a WhatsApp group and raised questions about her claims regarding the awards. Bindu responded to Yatish’s post on the group, saying, “To address the confusion and debate raised by Yatish, I would like to clarify that in the post, it is mentioned as Khel Ratna Puraskar, which was awarded to me by Junior Chamber International for women’s achievement. It is not mentioned as the Major Dhyanchand Khel Rathna award, which is awarded by the Government of India for outstanding sportspeople, and which I have not received. Since the award names sound similar, it caused this confusion.” According to Bindu Rani’s complaint, she called Yatish over the phone on June 30 at around 9.30 pm and spoke to the couple but they did not respond properly. Further investigation into the matter is underway, the police said.
