Gurugram: Haryana minister and former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh “appears” to have sexually assaulted a junior coach, according to the chargesheet submitted before a magistrate’s court by the Chandigarh Police last month.
The chargesheet, which was submitted on 25 August, also claims that Singh, who is Haryana’s minister of state for printing and stationery, was “not being honest” during the investigation. ThePrint has seen a copy of the chargesheet.
Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing the woman last year, when he still was sports minister, moved an anticipatory bail application in a Chandigarh court Monday. Singh stepped down as the minister for sports early this year, but retains the printing portfolio.
“From the investigation conducted so far, offences under Sections 342 (wrongfully confine any person), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman), 354-A (sexual harassment against a woman when there is a physical contact and advances that involve explicit sexual gestures; or demand or proposition), 354-B (assault or criminal force on any woman with the intention to disrobe or compel her to be naked), 506 (criminal intimidation), and Section 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) appear to have been committed by the accused,” the chargesheet, submitted in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, said.
It also explains why Singh hasn’t been arrested yet. The minister, according to the police, has been served notice under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The provision deals with circumstances under which a person suspected of having committed a cognizable offence can be asked to appear before investigators without arrest.
In order to substantiate its case, the chargesheet cites the 2014 Supreme Court ruling in Arnesh Kumar vs State Of Bihar & Anr. In this case, the apex court held that arrests should be an exception in cases where punishment is under seven years.
Wrongful confinement (342), assault or criminal force (354), criminal intimidation (506), and insulting the modesty of a woman (509) all carry terms from one to two years. Sexual harassment (354A) carries a jail term of up to three years and assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to disrobe (354B) has between three and seven years.
P.K. Sandhir, a criminal lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, told ThePrint that according to the SC’s 2014 ruling, where the sentence is less than seven years, it’s up to the police to decide whether to make an arrest.
“The judgment doesn’t bar the police from arresting a person who is charged with an offence carrying a sentence of fewer than seven years of imprisonment,” he said. “It leaves it to their discretion.”
In her FIR lodged in December, the junior athletics coach had claimed that Singh, then the sports minister, had called her in July 2022 and tried to push himself on her. She also accused him of similar acts in March 2022.
Singh has denied the allegations.
Meanwile, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar came to his minister’s defence. In a statement to the media in January, Khattar called the accusation absurd, claiming that “allegations don’t make one guilty”.
On 11 August, Haryana’s sports department suspended the coach without explicitly stating their reasons. The woman, however, has accused them of trying to pressure her to withdraw her complaint.
Also Read: Haryana minister Sandeep Singh, hockey captain who inspired ‘Soorma’, booked for sexual harassment
‘Corroborating’ witness statements
In its chargesheet, the Chandigarh Police said Singh had admitted that the woman had been at the minister’s residence on 2 March, 2022, and 1 July, 2022 — the days of the alleged incidents.
“Further, her duration of stay has been affirmed by her ride details as provided by Uber which shows that the victim was present at the scene of crime for over an hour, rather than 15 minutes as claimed by the accused,” the chargesheet said.
Singh couldn’t explain why he met the victim late in the evening — much after official working hours — the chargesheet said. It added that witnesses to whom the woman had narrated the July incident had corroborated her statement.
“Further, as per the data retrieved by the CFSL (Central Forensic Science Laboratory), a few chat/voice recordings have been found, which point towards the fact that the victim had told some people about the sexual harassment incident,” the chargesheet said.
The chargesheet mentions an injury the woman claims she suffered while escaping. For this, it refers to a text exchange between the victim and an official of the Haryana sports department, Raj Mittan, on 16 July, 2022.
“A photo of the victim has been retrieved from her phone, sent by the victim to Raj Mittan on July 16, 2022, where the victim has a bandage on her head,” it said. “This is in tandem with Raj Mittan’s account that the victim had told him about being sexually harassed by the minister and had sent a photo of her injured head, as she had banged her head on a table while trying to flee from the accused.”
The chargesheet also mentions the minister’s “unusual interest” in the junior coach. For this, it quotes a report by the CFSL, which claims that the woman’s phone records showed that the minister was regularly in touch with her and that their relationship went “beyond professional conduct”.
The chargesheet also quotes witness statements — including even Pankaj Nain, a 2007-batch IPS officer and the director general of the sports department — as corroborating this.
‘Not honest, conflicting statements’
The chargesheet claims that Singh “has not been honest during investigation”. For this, it cites an Instagram interaction about Singh between the woman and a close friend of the minister, Gurjinder.
According to the chargesheet, the woman had shared the screenshots of that chat with the minister but he had denied knowing about it, the chargesheet said.
It also claims that Singh “submitted conflicting statements during the examination”. “In his representation, the accused has stated that he had met the victim for the first time in March/April 2022 at Tau Devi Lal Stadium. But in his examination, he has admitted he had met her in March at his residence,” the chargesheet says.
It also claims that Singh attempted to “pacify” the woman last December after she appeared upset over his refusal to transfer her to Panchkula. The woman, who had been posted in Jhajjar, had approached Singh with the request on 28 December, 2022, the chargesheet said. The minister turned her down initially, but when she tried to approach Haryana home minister Anil Vij, he allegedly told her “not to panic” and promised the posting she wanted.
“This looks like an attempt to pacify the victim,” the chargesheet says.
Significantly, the chargesheet also says that some of the woman’s allegations could not be substantiated. For instance, it cites her claim that the accused “tried to gain her trust by offering her assistance in her appointment as a junior coach in the Haryana Sports Department in lieu of sexual gratification”.
It’s unclear when this alleged incident occurred.
“For this, she submitted a screenshot of a confidential list, which she claimed was sent to her by the accused. However, from CFSL examination of her phone, a recovered screenshot shows this list with IPS officer Pankaj Nain’s mobile number showcased on the top of it, which shows that the list had been shared with her by Pankaj Nain,” the chargesheet reads.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: ‘No panga with minister’—Haryana woman sprinter’s lone battle against sexual harassment