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A week after FIR, Sandeep Singh divested of sports portfolio
A week after he was booked by the Chandigarh Police for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman coach, Haryana minister Sandeep Singh was divested of the charge of sports and youth affairs portfolio. To pacify public outrage, the minister had announced on January 1 that he would give up his sports and youth affairs portfolio.
A week after he was booked by the Chandigarh Police for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman coach, Haryana minister Sandeep Singh was divested of the charge of sports and youth affairs portfolio. To pacify public outrage, the minister had announced on January 1 that he would give up his sports and youth affairs portfolio. However, no notification for divesting him of the portfolio was issued till Saturday.
As per a January 7 notification issued by the cabinet secretariat, the portfolio of sports and youth affairs has been allocated to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. However, the clamour for stripping Sandeep Singh of his ministerial rank refuses to die down.
Lawyer Vrinda Grover, who represents victims of sexual harassment, said that till the time Singh continues as a minister, he will have the potential to influence the course of investigation and intimidate the complainant. “Singh’s influence as a minister is apparent. Despite a clear mandate of the law, the Chandigarh Police have not taken any steps to arrest him. Is there some special privilege he is enjoying? Section 354 and 354 B of the IPC are non-bailable offences and despite the FIR, the police have not arrested Singh,” Grover had told HT. Various khaps, political parties and women rights group have also demanded Singh’s ouster from the Council of Ministers.
New charge added
The FIR against Sandeep Singh was registered at Chandigarh’s Sector 26 police station under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or criminal force with intent to disrobe), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, now Singh faces another charge of insulting the modesty of a woman. The Special Investigation of Team (SIT) has now added Section 509 of the IPC in the FIR.
“Section 509 of the IPC has been added based on the ongoing investigation,” said a senior officer of the Chandigarh Police.
Section 509 of the IPC is invoked for Uttering any word or making any gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman. If proven guilty the accused faces simple imprisonment for 3 years along with a fine.
The SIT, looking into complaint, is headed by deputy superintendent of police (east) Palak Goel and comprises inspectors Usha Rani and Ranjeet Singh. The team will report to SP (city) Shruti Arora and SSP (UT) Manisha Chaudhary.
“Since day one, we have been saying it is not just the case of harassment. As per the statement of the junior coach, police should have registered a case for attempt to rape against the minister, which sooner or later they have to add. After almost a week of registering the case, police have added Section 509 of the IPC which gives us hope for justice,” said advocate Deepanshu Bansal, counsel for the complainant.
He added, “We demand he should be immediately arrested and removed as a minister. As long as he is power, he can influence the probe.”
Clothes taken for forensic examination
The SIT has also taken the clothes of the woman coach for forensic examination. The clothes are the one which she was wearing and were torn in one of her encounters with the minister. Police has also sought CCTV footage and sent the same for forensic examination along with the woman coach’s phone.
