Para archer coach Sheetal Devi has been jailed in a sexual harassment case

Kuldeep Vedwan, Sheetal Devi and India’s national para archery coach, who was arrested in 2023 on charges of sexually harassing a minor athlete, have been sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by the Fast Track Special Court in Sonipat. He secured bail ahead of the 2024 Summer Paralympics.

The court convicted Vedwan under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) and also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000. After being found guilty on May 15, he was formally sentenced on Wednesday, after which he was remanded in custody.

As part of the judgment, the court imposed a five-year prison sentence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act and an additional three-year sentence under Section 12. Both sentences will run concurrently.

The matter arose out of an incident during the Youth Championship Trials held at the India Sports Center in Sonipat in April 2023. The minor athlete alleged that Vedwan entered her hotel room around 4 am on April 7 and misbehaved with her.

According to the complaint, the athlete resisted his attacks for almost 15 to 20 minutes before he managed to leave the room and seek refuge with other female players.

She also accused the coach of repeatedly asking her to stay in his room during later tournaments and allegedly assured her that he would help her become a top-level player if she complied.

After she informed her family about the incidents, a complaint was first made to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. An internal inquiry reportedly advised the family to approach the Sonipat police, where an FIR was eventually registered in August 2023 under Section 354A of the IPC along with Sections 10 and 12 of the POCSO Act.

Vedwan was arrested later that year and spent time in custody before being granted bail shortly before the 2024 Paris Paralympics. During the period of his suspension, his wife Abhilasha Chaudhary took over as India’s para archery coach.

Vedwan was appointed India’s para archery coach for the 2018 Asian Para Games and continued in this role during the 2020 Summer Paralympics where Harvinder Singh secured India’s first ever Paralympic medal in archery. After these achievements, Vedwan also submitted his candidature for the prestigious Dronacharya Award before the allegations against him surfaced.

Vedwan was also widely credited for training Sheetal Devi, an armless para archer who rose to global prominence under his tutelage. He was instrumental in designing her unconventional shooting method, which involved using her legs, shoulders and chin to launch arrows. Under his guidance, Sheetal won gold medals at the 2023 Asian Para Games and later became the world champion in 2025, she went down in history as the first armless female archer to do so.

Kuldeep Vedwan also identified a quadruple amputee Payal Nag through a social media post before bringing her to train at his academy based at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Sports Complex in Katra.

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Published on:

21 May 2026 22:34 IST

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