New Delhi: The Chief Sports Officer (CSO) of the the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Khajan Singh, who had been accused by a constable of running a “sex scandal” in the force, and of sexually harassing, raping and intimidating her for several years, has been suspended by the force.
According to sources in the paramilitary force, Singh and the CRPF’s wrestling coach, Inspector Surjit Singh, who had also been accused of rape, have been placed under suspension on the basis of the recommendations of a committee formed to investigate the charges.
“An inquiry is still under way… He has not been found guilty as yet but in order to ensure that he does not influence the proceedings of the investigation, the empowered committee has decided to put the two officers on suspension,” a CRPF officer told ThePrint.
Another officer said that the preliminary findings are significant, and it is on that basis that a detailed inquiry has been called for.
The rape case
The case involving Khajan Singh, a national swimming champion who won silver at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, and an Arjuna awardee, was first reported by ThePrint in December last year.
In an FIR lodged at the Baba Haridas Nagar Police Station in New Delhi’s Dwarka, the constable, who joined the force in 2010 and has won several medals while being part of the CRPF’s wrestling squad, accused the team coach Surjit Singh and CSO Khajan Singh, a DIG-level officer, of rape, sexual harassment and intimidation.
“Both Surjit Singh and Khajan Singh run a sex scandal within CRPF and have many accomplices,” she alleged in the FIR, which has been accessed by ThePrint. “They sexually harass female constables and later use them as their accomplices.”
Weeks after ThePrint reported the case, however, the woman turned hostile and reportedly denied all allegations in her statement recorded before the magistrate under CrPC section 164. She was instead reported to have told the police that she was disturbed due to personal and professional reasons and was not raped.
But the empowered committee formed under CRPF officer Charu Sinha, in line with Supreme Court guidelines, has continued with the probe.
“Once an inquiry starts, it will take its due course even if the complainant turns hostile,” the second officer quoted above said.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
Also read: Suicides among CRPF personnel up 55% since 2016, govt blames ‘personal problems’
COMMENTS