Athletics coach who accused Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh of sexual harassment lodges police complaint

PTI

Chandigarh, December 30

The junior athletics coach who accused Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh of sexual harassment lodged a police complaint against him on Friday.

On Thursday, the woman made the accusation during a press conference held at the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) office here. The minister, however, dismissed the allegations as baseless and called for an independent probe.

A day later, the coach approached the police with a complaint against the BJP minister. “I have given a complaint to the SSP madam here. I am hopeful that I will get justice and Chandigarh Police will investigate my complaint by getting to the bottom of things,” she told reporters.

The woman also demanded that she be provided security.

A senior police official confirmed the receipt of the complaint.

EX-CM Bhupinder Hooda demands impartial inquiry

Meanwhile, in Rohtak, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda demanded an impartial inquiry into the matter. Hooda was responding to queries about the allegations levelled against the state minister.

The athletics coach told reporters here that she would try to seek an appointment with the Haryana Chief Minister. “I am a daughter of Haryana and this country, and I hope the government will give me time and listen to what I have gone through,” she said.

In her police complaint, she mentioned most of the allegations that she had levelled against the minister on Thursday and sought strict action against the BJP leader as per law.

Addressing the media, she had alleged that Sandeep Singh, a former hockey captain and sitting BJP MLA from Pehowa in Kurukshetra, had first seen her at a gym and then contacted her on Instagram.

The coach claimed that the minister later kept insisting that they meet up. “He messaged me on Instagram and said my national games certificate is pending and wanted to meet in this regard,” she added. “Unfortunately, my certificate has been misplaced by my federation and I have been taking it up with the authorities concerned.”

The woman said she finally agreed to meet him at his residence-cum-camp office here with some other documents she had, and alleged that when she went there, the minister indulged in sexual misconduct.

Asked about the allegations, Singh had on Thursday dubbed them as baseless and called for an independent probe.

“I want an independent probe. We will also get it probed because my image has been tarnished,” he had said while denying the charge.

The minister had further said that all details about the woman’s entire life should be probed.

On Thursday, the Indian National Lok Dal had demanded that the Manohar Lal Khattar Government immediately sack Sandeep Singh and set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.