Assault case against Aussie IPL cricketer dropped

NEW DELHI (AFP) –

Policemen escort Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach (C) towards a court appearance in New Delhi on May 18. Pomersbach is to be cleared of accusations that he molested a woman and beat up her fiance during the IPL tournament in India, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach is to be cleared of accusations that he molested a woman and beat up her fiance during the IPL tournament in India, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Ajay Bhargava said that an out-of-court deal had been reached between the two parties and that no financial settlement was involved to end the molestation case.

“The matter has been amicably resolved,” Bhargava told AFP. “It was an unfortunate incident, a bad episode and nobody wishes to take it forward.”

The woman’s lawyers confirmed the move, according to the Press Trust of India news agency, and the complaint will be formally withdrawn in the Delhi High Court later Thursday.

The 27-year-old woman had earlier told Indian media that Pomersbach had “tagged along” with her and her Mumbai-based fiance and had grabbed her while they drank together in a hotel room in New Delhi.

When her fiance asked Pomersbach to leave her alone, the player “turned around and started hitting him”, she had alleged.

Pomersbach, signed up by the IPL Royal Challengers Bangalore team, denied the charges against him and was granted bail, but he faced a jail sentence if prosecuted and found guilty.

The batsman has battled depression and drug problems, and narrowly avoided a jail sentence in Australia after admitting to assaulting a police officer who was trying to arrest him for drunk-driving.

The woman is also expected to drop legal proceedings against Siddharth Mallya, the director of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, over Twitter messages he posted after the accusations.

Mallya welcomed the withdrawal of the case, saying on Twitter he was “so glad that all charges have been dropped and Luke can return Down Under”.