Sexual harassment case: Chargesheet indicates ‘use of influence’ by Sandeep Singh

The chargesheet submitted by the Chandigarh Police against Haryana minister Sandeep Singh in a sexual harassment case indicates “use of influence” by him in delaying the victim’s appointment as junior coach and transferring her from Panchkula to Jhajjar.

It was some of the difficulties faced by the victim for 6 months post sexual harassment that made her approach the police for help, indicates the challan submitted by police on August 25. The report mentions: “The examination of the staff of the sports department and perusal of official records indicates the use of influence in delaying her appointment (as junior coach in Haryana sports department) and her transfer from Panchkula to her native district Jhajjar.”

Singh, a former captain of the Indian hockey team, was booked by Chandigarh Police on December 31, 2022, on the complaint of a junior athletics coach. He gave up his sports portfolio a day after.

The final report mentions that Snapchat conversations between the victim and Singh revealed that accused (Sandeep Singh) offered to help her with her appointment under the Haryana Outstanding Sports Persons (OSP) policy, however, he has denied this in his statement to the police.

Stating that there has been an undue delay in her appointment, the chargesheet mentions: “The record from the sports department shows that posting of previous batch of OSP coaches was based on the requirement of coaches at the said location/preference given by the coaches. Therefore, this was the first time that OSP coaches of Group C were posted at their native places.”

The police said, “Further, even Pankaj Nain, then director sports, Haryana, has affirmed that the accused had asked him to send the file for victim’s posting to him.”

Regarding denial of foreign training permission to the victim, the chargesheet mentions that the foreign training permission for group C posts is usually escalated to the level of director sports, yet in victim’s case, it was sent to the minister without any “logical explanation”. “Moreover, there is no written policy for the rule on the basis of which foreign training permission was denied and accused (Singh) has also admitted,” it added.

The victim was under “severe mental stress” due to these developments as indicated by her chats and she has blamed the accused for creating an “adverse atmosphere”. She even tried to approach the higher officials to allow her to practice at Tau Devi Lal Stadium and get her transfer orders cancelled, it notes.

As per police, the woman coach was initially on a “friendly term” with the minister, however, after the incident of July 1 in which she was allegedly sexually harassed by the minister at his official residence, she started complaining about “the undue sexual advances” made by him. The formal complaint of sexual harassment was made by her on December 31.