Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh booked for harassment after coach's complaint

The Chandigarh police department filed a sexual harassment and criminal intimidation case against Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh on Saturday night based on a complaint filed by a junior athletics coach on Friday. The minister dismissed the allegations as baseless and asked for an independent probe. 

In her complaint, the coach accused Singh of inviting her to his home and engaging in sexual misconduct. The junior coach claimed that Olympian Sandeep Singh would send her messages on Instagram and Snapchat. On July 1, 2022, Singh allegedly made a Snapchat call and asked her to visit his official residence in Sector 7, Chandigarh, for document verification. The woman further claimed, "Around 6:50 pm, he called me to his office and sexually assaulted me. My T-shirt was ripped. I pushed him aside and ran out of the room as the door was unlocked."

The woman held a press meeting at the office at the Indian National Lok Dal's office (INLD). Additionally, the woman demanded security. She submitted the complaint to the Superintendent of Police (City), Shruti Arora. The complainant later met with Senior Superintendent of Police (UT) Manisha Chaudhary and SP Arora. According to reports, the woman interacted with the two officers for at least an hour.

On Saturday, Chandigarh police booked Singh for stalking, illegal confinement, sexual harassment, and criminal intimidation. The FIR was filed against Sandeep Singh on Saturday night at Sector 26 police station.

Following the same, the Senior Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asked for an impartial probe. 

Sandeep Singh, sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Pehowa in Kurukshetra, is a professional field hockey player. Singh served as captain of the Indian national hockey team. Singh was famously known as 'Flicker Singh' due to his speciality in penalty corners.

In 2018, a biopic was released based on Singh, titled 'Soorma,' and starred famous Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh. He was also a judge on the MTV Roadies reality show. 

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• Chandigarh
• Haryana
• Sandeep Singh
• sports