Chandigarh: Hockey Olympian and former India captain Sandeep Singh has resigned as Haryana Sports minister after a female coach accused him of sexual misconduct and filed a complaint against him.
In a video message, Sandeep said that he is handing over the responsibility of the Sports department to the Chief Minister till an ongoing investigation is completed.
Denying the allegations, Sandeep claimed that there is an attempt to spoil his image and hoped for a thorough investigation into the allegations and history of the complainant.
The woman, a junior athletics coach, alleged that Sandeep sought sexual favours from her when she went to him for some work. She also claimed that the 36-year-old BJP politician tore her T-shirt at his residence.
“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,” the woman said.
She agreed to meet Sandeep at his residence-cum-camp office, but went she went there, the minister molested her, the complaint mentioned.
“He took me to a side cabin of his residence… placed my documents on the side table and placed his hand on my foot. He said when he saw me for the first time, he liked me… He said ‘you keep me happy and I will keep you happy’,” the woman alleged.
“I removed his hand and he even tore my T-shirt. I was crying and raised an alarm for help and though all his staff was there, no one helped me,” she added.
