‘He harassed me physically, mentally': Coach who accused Haryana minister

Singh has been accused of indulging in sexual misconduct by the woman during her visit to his official residence in Chandigarh.

The athletics coach, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh, has said that she was “hopeful that action will be taken” in the matter. The complainant told news agency ANI that the minister “harassed me physically and mentally.” "At first, I tried to avoid him but he continued to harass me," she further stressed.

Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh. (ANI)

Singh has been accused of indulging in sexual misconduct by the woman during her visit to his official residence in Chandigarh and a case has been registered by the Chandigarh police under Sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

While Singh has, for now, stepped down from his duties as the state's sports minister until the investigation is underway, he has dismissed the allegations against him, stressing that it is an “attempt to spoil his image”. “There is an attempt to spoil my image. I hope there will be a thorough investigation of the false allegations levelled against me. I hand over the responsibility of the Sports department to the Chief Minister (Manohar Lal Khattar) until the report of the investigation comes out,” the minister can be heard saying in a video shared by ANI.

Meanwhile, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier demanded an impartial inquiry into the allegations. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) asked the Manohar Lal Khattar government to immediately sack Singh and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

(With inputs from ANI)