Chandigarh: The First Information Report (FIR) lodged against Haryana minister Sandeep Singh on a complaint by a woman athlete accuses him of trying to kiss her; tugging at her T-shirt, which tore in the process; and attempting to rape her, although she thwarted his bid.
ThePrint has accessed a copy of the FIR lodged at Chandigarh’s Sector 26 police station.
The athlete has also alleged that Singh kept threatening her after the incident on 1 July 2022, and that when she didn’t give in to his advances, she was transferred to Jhajjar from Panchkula.
Singh, who relinquished his sports portfolio Sunday, has denied all allegations and has termed this an attempt to malign his image.
Details of FIR
In her complaint, the victim has alleged that on 1 July 2022, Sandeep Singh called her on Snapchat and asked her to visit his home in Sector 7 in Chandigarh “for the purpose of verification of job documents”.
“I took a cab and met him in his office. Thereafter, he called me into the adjacent cabin and sat alongside me on the sofa. Subsequently, he kept his hand on my thigh and said, ‘I like you, stop this running around. I will sponsor you and verify your Instagram account. You keep me happy and I will also do the same.”
She added, “He (Sandeep) tried to kiss me. I opposed (him) and tried to push him aside, but (he) forced himself on me and tore my T-shirt in the process. I tried to escape. Since the door of his office doesn’t have a lock, I managed to escape and was saved from a rape attempt.”
She has further alleged that she brought the incident to the notice of higher officers in the police and her own department, but no action was taken. “Rather, I was advised that this matter pertains to Chandigarh and you can’t expect any action against a minister unless you have proof. I was advised to forget this incident and focus on my work,” she added.
She claimed that she remained silent but Singh continued sending messages on Instagram, harassing her mentally, and making attempts to jeopardise her career.
The Chandigarh police Saturday registered a criminal case for against Singh for stalking, illegal confinement, sexual harassment, and criminal intimidation.
The FIR is registered under sections 354, 354-A, 354-B, 342 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. The police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) Sunday to probe the allegations.
The police said the SIT, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (East) Palak Goel, also includes inspectors Usha Rani and Ranjeet Singh. The team will report to SP (City) Shruti Arora and SSP (UT) Manisha Chaudhary.
On Sunday, Singh gave up his sports portfolio on “moral grounds”, adding that he had handed over the charge to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar until the investigation report is out. However, he continues to hold the printing and stationery portfolio.
Singh, a former captain of the Indian hockey team, was inducted as a minister of state after he won the Pehowa seat in the October 2019 assembly election as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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