After sexual allegations were levelled against the Sports minister, Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar on Tuesday said that accused Sandeep Singh is “not guilty yet”, adding that he has been removed as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, so that the probe can be carried out smoothly.
He further said that police are investigating the matter and further action will be taken once the inquiry report comes.
“A woman player has accused Sports Minister (Sandeep Singh) but he is not guilty yet. Meanwhile, we have removed him from the post, so that the investigation can be done smoothly. We will wait for the investigation to be over,” Khattar said in Chandigarh, as quoted by ANI.
A woman junior coach lodged a police complaint against Singh, who is a former India hockey captain, levelling allegations of sexual assault.
An FIR was registered against Singh, an Olympian, at Sector 26 police station Saturday night, reported The Indian Express. The Chandigarh police booked Singh on Saturday for stalking, illegal confinement, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
The woman coach had filed a complaint at the Chandigarh police headquarters on Friday. She had submitted the complaint to the Superintendent of Police (City) Shruti Arora, and later met Senior Superintendent of Police (UT), Manisha Chaudhary, along with Arora.
She alleged that the minister harassed her between February and November at his office and other places. She further said that he had also asked her to meet in Sector 7 of Chandigarh, and communicated with her over social media.
“He touched me inappropriately at his house in Chandigarh. I have narrated the sequence of events to the Chandigarh police,” she said, after she lodged the complaint, as quoted by IE.
She also said that she did not have a record of the messages sent to her by Singh as he sent them in “disappearing mode”.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Singh stepped down as Sports minister, saying that he took the step on moral grounds, and handed over the charge to CM Khattar. However, he has not resigned from the BJP-led government in the state. He added that the charges against him are baseless.
A ‘khap panchayat’ on Monday threatened to launch a big agitation if Singh was not sacked.