Criminal Court, on Sunday, released former national team cricket coach Asif Khan, who allegedly sexually abused various athletes, due to Maldives Police Service failing to summon him before a judge within 24 hours of arrest.
According to Police, he was released after the court confiscated the South African citizen's passport for 30 days.
Moreover, the Police Spokesperson assured that efforts would be undertaken to prevent the repetition of such issues and that delays regarding Khan's court appearance are under investigation by the administrative body.
Members of the men's and women's national cricket team released a statement accusing the National Cricket Board of aiding and abetting the 49-year-old coach in fleeing the country without alerting authorities over the abuse accusations.
"We are calling the officials of Cricket Board of Maldives to step up in helping the victims and fully cooperate with the investigative authorities", the statement read.
Police arrested Khan at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Saturday morning while he was about to depart from Maldives.
Although the Police confirmed that an African national was arrested over allegations of sexual abuse against both minors and adults, no further details were revealed.
Asif Khan has coached the national cricket team since 2018. During his tenure, Maldives won silver in the Malaysian T20 Tri-Nation Series held by the Malaysian Cricket Association in June.
This is the first time in Maldivian sports history that such serious allegations were raised against a coach.
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