Cricketer Yash Dayal accused of raping minor; FIR registered in Jaipur

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's under-fire pacer Yash Dayal has been accused of raping a minor in an FIR registered against him by Jaipur Police.

The 27-year-old cricketer from Uttar Pradesh is already facing charges of sexual exploitation from a woman in Ghaziabad who has alleged that Dayal abused her after promising to marry her during a five-year relationship.

SHO of Jaipur's Sanganer Sadar police station Anil Jaiman said the latest FIR was registered on Wednesday. "FIR was registered against Yash Dayal for rape under relevant Sections of the POCSO Act and the BNS," he said here on Friday.

According to Jaiman, the victim has alleged that the player raped her first in 2023, when she was 17 and a similar assault took place in April this year at a hotel in Sitapura area.

"She alleged that the cricketer had promised help and support in her career. He contacted her in April this year when he was in Jaipur for IPL and called her to the hotel where he allegedly raped her again," the SHO said, adding that the matter was under investigation.

The player has not issued any statement on either of the two cases so far.

Dayal, a medium pacer, is a reasonably well-known bowler in the Indian domestic circuit. He made his debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2018 and has since played 27 first-class games, claiming 84 wickets.

He has appeared in 71 T20 matches that have yielded 66 scalps. He started his IPL career with the Gujarat Titans in 2022 before moving to RCB. He was retained by the Bengaluru team for this year's season too and was a key member of the trophy-winning outfit under Rajat Patidar.