Haryana sports minister and former India hockey captain, Sandeep Singh on January 01 (Sunday) handed the state's sports department to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar after a woman junior athletics coach lodged a sexual harassment case against him. Sandeep Singh has denied all allegation leveled against him and said it's an attempt to 'spoil his image'.
"There is an attempt to spoil my image. I hope there will be a thorough investigation into the false allegations levelled against me. I hand over the responsibility of the Sports department to the Chief Minister until the report of the investigation comes out," he said.
The woman coach filed a complaint at Chandigarh’s Sector 26 police station and a 'sexual harassment and criminal intimidation' case has been registered against the former India hockey captain.
"I have been assured of an impartial probe. I also raised the issue of my security. I have been receiving intimidating messages on my social media accounts. Out of fear, I have stopped attending phone calls. The minister harassed me between February and November at his office and other places. Once, he even asked me to meet him in Sector 7. He mostly communicated with me over social media. He touched me inappropriately at his house in Chandigarh. I have narrated the sequence of events to the Chandigarh police," the woman coach said after lodging the complaint.
Sandeep Singh is a well-known figure in the Indian sports fraternity and was a penalty-corner specialist during his playing days. In 2018, a biographical film named 'Soorma' was released on the silver screen that portrayed the former India hockey captain's life.
