Haryana Sports Minister Resigns Over Sex Harassment Case, Denies Charge
© Photo : Sandeep Singh/ Twitter
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Sandeep Singh, a professional hockey player in the past and former captain of the Indian hockey team from Haryana state, joined politics and became Haryana's sports minister in 2019.
Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh resigned from his post on Sunday after the Chandigarh police registered a sexual harassment and criminal intimidation case against him based on a complaint made by a junior athletics coach on Friday.
Calling it a false allegation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician denied all the charges and told the Indian media that all this is being done to tarnish 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," Singh said on Sunday.
भारत के हॉकी टीम के कप्तान रह चुके हैं संदीप सिंह ने हरियाणा खेल मंत्री के पद से इस्तीफ़ा दे दिया है, जूनियर कोच ने उन पर गंभीर आरोप आरोप लगाए थे #SandeepSingh pic.twitter.com/Eaib7j0JvA
— sushant (journalist) (@pareek12sushant) January 1, 2023
The incident sparked off last week after the victim, a junior athletics coach, accused Singh of sexual misconduct during a press conference.
The coach said that it all started when Singh first saw her at a gym and then contacted her on Instagram.
She claimed that the minister later kept insisting on meeting up.
"He messaged me on Instagram and said my national games certificate is pending and wanted to meet in this regard. Unfortunately, my certificate has been misplaced by my federation and I have been taking it up with the authorities concerned,” she said.
When she agreed to meet the minister and went to his residence-cum-camp office with some other documents, she alleged that the minister engaged in sexual misconduct.
In Haryana's BJP government, Sports Minister Sandeep Singh told a lady coach - "if you keep me happy, I will keep you happy".
— Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress (@iyctripura) December 31, 2022
This is the character and real face of those who raise slogans of 'Beti Bachao'.pic.twitter.com/V3rl1lPhQj
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to probe the allegations against the minister.
