Athletics coach who accused Haryana minister Sandeep Singh of sexual harassment records statement before SIT

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 3 

The junior athletics coach, who has accused former Sports Minister Sandeep Singh of sexual harassment, on Tuesday recorded her statement before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that questioned her for nearly eight hours. The victim has alleged that she has been offered Rs 1 crore to shift to some other country.

The victim accompanied by her lawyers arrived at the police station at Sector 26 police station around 11 am.

Sources said that victim was questioned by the SIT in detail for several hours.

Sources said that victim was given a detailed questionnaire and her statement was recorded.

She handed over all the evidences, including some documents and her mobile phone, to the investigating team.

After getting victim’s statement recorded before the SIT, her lawyers pressed upon getting her statement recorded under Section 164 of CrPC, following which the police decided to get her statement recorded. Cops took the victim to record her statement, however, the same could not be recorded today.

Her statement before the magistrate will be recorded on Wednesday.

The victim while leaving the police station told the media that she had been allegedly offered Rs 1 crore to strike a compromise in the case.

“I have been offered Rs 1 crore to shift to some other country”, she alleged.

While raising question on police investigation, victim’s lawyer Deepanshu Bansal said that his client has been questioned four times, while Sandeep who has been booked under non-bailable offences has not been called for questioning. 

An FIR against the former captain of the Indian national hockey team was registered on December 31, a day after the coach had approached the Chandigarh police with her complaint.

In her complaint, the coach had alleged that Sandeep had first seen her at a gym and then contacted her on Instagram.

She had stated that Sandeep Singh would send her messages on Instagram and Snapchat. On July 1, 2022, Sandeep had allegedly made a Snapchat call and asked her to visit his residence-cum-camp office in Sector 7, Chandigarh, for some official work,

“Around 6.50 pm, he called me to his office and molested me. My T-shirt was torn. I managed to push him aside and ran out of the room as the door was unlocked,” she had alleged.

A former Olympian and first-time MLA from Pehowa, Kurukshetra, Sandeep gave up his Sports portfolio on January 1, saying that he had taken the step on moral grounds.

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