Haryana Sports Minister and Olympian Sandeep Singh booked for sexual harassment, resigns

CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh Police has booked Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh, who is also an Olympian, for allegedly sexually harassing, outraging the modesty, stalking, illegally confining, and criminal intimidating a junior athletics coach in Haryana.

Singh has resigned from his post and dismissed the allegations as an attempt to spoil his image.

Sources said that the junior coach in her complaint had alleged that Sandeep Singh used to send her messages on Instagram and Snapchat, and on July 1, the minister had allegedly made a Snapchat call and asked her to visit his official residence in Sector 7 in Chandigarh for verification of documents. It was around 6.50 pm on the day when she went to his camp office at his official residence where he allegedly molested her.

She further alleged that she managed to run out of the room and her t-shirt was also torn in the process.

A case on charges of assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent of disrobing, wrongful confinement, and criminal intimidation has been registered against Sandeep Singh, who is also the former Indian hockey team captain, at Sector 26 police station yesterday night.

A spokesperson for Chandigarh police said, "In the matter of complaint made by a woman coach of Haryana against the Haryana Sports Minister, a case under sections 354, 354A, 354B, 342, 506 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 26 police station of Chandigarh and is being investigated.’’ She had recently met and submitted the complaint to the Superintendent of Police (City) Shruti Arora and later met Senior Superintendent of Police of Chandigarh (Union Territory) Manisha Chaudhary along with Arora. The woman reportedly interacted with the two officers for at least an hour.

She has alleged that Sandeep Singh had first seen her at a gym and then contacted her on Instagram. The coach claimed that the MLA from Pehowa in Kurukshetra kept insisting that they meet.

"He messaged me on Instagram and said my national games certificate is pending and wanted to meet in this regard. Unfortunately, my certificate has been misplaced by my



federation and I have been taking it up with the authorities concerned," the woman had said.

She, according to her complaint, agreed to meet Sandeep Singh at his residence-cum-camp office here with some other documents she had. When she went there, the minister molested her, she said. "He took me to a side cabin of his residence, placed my documents on the side table and placed his hand on my foot. He said when he saw me for the first time, he liked me. He said you keep me happy and I will keep you happy," the woman alleged.

"I removed his hand - he even tore my T-shirt. I was crying and I raised an alarm for help and though all his staff was there, no one helped me," she had alleged.

Singh, who gave up his sports portfolio today, said he has taken this step on moral grounds. He, however, has not resigned from the Cabinet.

"I hand over the responsibility of the sports department to the Chief Minister until the report of the investigation comes out. I hope there will be a thorough investigation into the false allegations levelled against me. As there has been an attempt to spoil my image," he claimed.

36-year-old Sandeep Singh, a first-time MLA from Pehowa in Kurukshetra, also holds the Printing and Stationery Department.

The prolific drag-flicker, nicknamed "Flicker Singh", was the only one among the three sportspersons fielded by the BJP in the October 2019 Haryana polls to taste victory.

Singh's life was made into a biopic, "Soorma", in 2018. It was an inspirational story about Singh, who was paralysed after being hit by an accidental gunshot on a train in 2006 but came back stronger.

Leader of Opposition and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also demanded an impartial inquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Director General of Police PK Agrawal has constituted a three-member committee to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the matter.

The committee is headed by Mamta Singh, Additional Director General of Police of Rohtak Range, besides Sumer Partap Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Panchkula, and Raj Kumar Kaushik, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Panchkula.