Star Indian women's cricketer accuses fellow player of duping her of Rs 25 lakh, stealing jewellery from her residence

Indian women's team all-rounder Deepti Sharma has accused fellow cricketer Arushi Goel of duping her of ₹25 lakh. Additionally, she also accused her of breaking into her Agra residence and stealing gold and silver jewellery and ₹2 lakh in foreign currency, a Times of India report said.

The incident came to light when the cricketer's brother Sumit Sharma tried to access the residence, but could not enter the house. A complaint filed by him said that Goel and her family had been seeking financial assistance from Sharma, citing different reasons.

"Deepti's brother, Sumit Sharma, approached the Sadar police station with the complaint. Prima facie, we found some truth in the complaint and filed an FIR under BNS sections 305 (a) (theft), 331 (3) (house breaking), 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust) and 352 (insulting someone with the intent to provoke a breach of peace)," senior police officer Sukanya Sharma told The Times of India.

"The two cricketers became close over the years through their association in the same team. Then, Arushi and her parents started exploiting Deepti financially, citing family emergencies and financial distress," the complaint added.

As per the complaint, the latter broke into the former's flat on April 22, stole the jewellery and the foreign currency and replaced the original lock with a new one before absconding from the residence. When Sharma confronted Goel to return the money, she refused to do so.

"My sister lost over Rs 25 lakh in the two-year period. When she confronted Arushi, the latter refused to return the amount," the complaint said.

Deepti Sharma stressed about the incident ahead of England tour in June

The cricketer's brother said that she had been stressed about the incident, in the lead-up to India's white-ball tour to England in June. Sharma has been selected in both the ODI and the T20I squads.

"The incident has caused significant distress to Deepti, who is at the moment preoccupied with her training commitments and is preparing for the Team India camp in Bengaluru ahead of England tour," Sharma said.

India are scheduled to play a three-match ODI and a five-match T20I series in England, starting on June 28.