oppn parties Former Hockey Star & Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

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Former Hockey Star & Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-01-02 03:17:11

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

Former India hockey captain and Haryana sports and youth development minister Sandeep Singh has surrendered his portfolio but has not resigned from the state cabinet after an FIR was filed against him for sexual harassment of a woman. An athlete-coach has accused Singh of sending her inappropriate messages, 'forcing' her to visit his home and then touching her inappropriately and trying to rape her. These are serious charges and the woman has at least some evidence in the form of the messages he sent to her but Singh has denied all charges as "false and baseless" and has said that this is an attempt to tarnish his image. 36-year-old Singh is a first-time BJP MLA.

Although there been extremely rare cases when women have made false charges against reputed persons, it has to be recognized that it takes immense courage for a woman to level charges against a powerful man. In this case, the athlete-coach is young and has her whole career before her. She was reportedly even dissuaded by senior police officers and sports department officers not to pursue the case or lodge a complaint against Singh. If, despite all this, she has shown the courage to register the FIR, there should be a fast and impartial inquiry into the matter.

The woman met Haryana home minister Aman Vij and demanded a fair probe. She said giving up sports portfolio is not enough and Singh should resign from the cabinet to ensure a fair probe. She also alleged that Singh's wrongdoing is not limited to her and if he is arrested, a lot of other women who he has harassed will come out with their stories.

It is sad that men in powerful positions try to take advantage of women, disregarding the relation of trust they hold. In the past, Singh was always a role model for the youth as a brilliantly natural hockey player who fought serious injury (he was accidently shot in the spine by an RPF personnel and was paralysed in the lower body but recovered miraculously in two years to come back strongly) and captained India. He also won the Arjuna award. But he is now in the news for the wrong reasons. Singh must resign from the state cabinet to ensure that he does not interfere with the investigation. The state administration must conduct an unbiased probe and find the truth. 

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