A molestation case, pursued vigorously by a desperate father, has ended up uncovering alleged age fraud by a junior Davis Cupper and four others even as the national tennis federation tip-toed around the issue that has plagued the sport for years.

The junior player was allegedly molested by fellow trainees, including a junior Davis Cup player, at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) complex. The subsequent revelations on age fraud, thanks to the efforts of the girl's father, are also being investigated by police.

The father, who cannot be identified as the victim is a minor, has alleged that the girl was first molested in May 2019, went through the ordeal again in

July before an FIR was lodged in August. He said he was convinced that the molesters were over-age.

"The CLTA should have helped me in this case but instead a counter FIR was filed against me. They did not believe the players were over-age. We were the victims but the CLTA hired lawyers to protect the players. Even their bail bonds were filled by CLTA officials," he alleged in a telephonic conversation with PTI.

"Can you believe that? Those players are still playing at CLTA when they should have been punished. These five players were enrolled under the

CHART programme, for which the CLTA receives huge funds from Corporates.

"So it is understandable why they tried to protect those players and harassed me instead," he said.

He alleged that CLTA helped them obtain fake age certificates in 2013 after they joined the Chandigarh Academy for Rural Tennis (CHART) programme in 2012. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) under its CSR initiative, supports CHART.