Chandigarh: The trouble seems to be far from over for the former Olympian and Haryana minister Sandeep Singh - who is facing allegations of sexual harassment by a junior woman coach - with the Chandigarh police charge-sheet submitted before a local court, indicating holes in his versions given during investigation.
The Chandigarh police has in its final report submitted a few days ago, has pointedly held that contrary to the version of Singh, a former Indian hockey captain, the relationship between him and the victim coach was beyond professional interactions.
The police held that several witnesses said that the victim had told them about the sexual harassment by the accused and that on the basis of central forensic science laboratory (CFSL) examination of victim’s mobile phone, some witnesses even mentioned there was a close relationship between the two. Also, the minister could also not explain why he allowed the coach to meet him after the official meeting time in the evening.
The police held that Singh even refused knowledge of the screenshots of his chat sent to him by the victim coach, which showed he was not being honest during the police probe.
Stating that the victim had identified the scene of crime – the main office, attached side room as well as the bedroom and attached bathroom, besides connecting corridors – which showed she had visited the said place where she alleged to have been molested. The police report also has on record that Singh had refused to undergo lie-detection test on medical grounds.
Also, the victim’s claim about the duration of her stay at the minister residence had been confirmed by her ride details by the Uber cab which showed she was there for over an hour and not 15 minutes as was claimed by the minister.
Furthermore, even though there was no rule to send the file pertaining to the group-C post to the minister, Pankaj Nain, IPS officer, the then director sports, had said that the accused minister had asked to send her file to him (minister).
The court has fixed the next hearing for September 16.
For the record, the Chandigarh police had registered a case against Singh on the complaint of the junior woman coach on December 31, 2022 under sections 354, 354-A, 354-B, 342 and 506 IPC. The complainant had alleged that the minister had molested her at his official residence on July 1, 2022; he pushed her and tore her T-shirt when she resisted; however, she managed to escape as the doors were not locked.
Singh had resigned as sports minister on "moral grounds’’ after he was booked by Chandigarh police. However, he still holds the portfolio of the printing and stationery department. Singh, has rubbished the charges stating that it was an attempt to tarnish his reputation. Even though Congress and other opposition parties have accused the chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP combine government of sheltering Singh, they have also been demanding sacking of the minister. The Haryana assembly had also witnessed uproar over the issue during its recently held monsoon session.
