Allegation doesn't make a person guilty: ML Khattar amid sex harassment charges against minister
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar today termed as "absurd" the allegations of sexual harassment against minister Sandeep Singh and said a person does not become guilty just because an accusation is levelled against him.
He said the police are investigating the matter and further action will be taken once the inquiry report comes.
Sandeep Singh gave up the sports portfolio on Sunday, saying he has taken the step on moral grounds, and claimed that the charges levelled against him by the woman coach are baseless. However, he had not resigned from the BJP-led Haryana ministry.
"A woman sportsperson has levelled an absurd (anargal) allegation against the sports minister. But just levelling an allegation does not make a person guilty. The police probes the allegations.
"The Chandigarh police is investigating the matter and the Haryana Police too is gathering its report. We will take further action once the (inquiry) report comes," Khattar told reporters in Rajasthan's Sirohi where he had gone to attend an event of the Brahma Kumaris.
Mr Khattar said being a sports minister, an issue might have been raised that an impartial inquiry is not taking place.
Therefore, Sandeep Singh will not remain a sports minister and he has been removed so that a proper and fair inquiry takes place, he said.
"Being a minister in the sports department, an issue might have been raised that an impartial inquiry is not taking place. Therefore, he will not remain a sports minister, he has been removed from there so that a proper and fair inquiry takes place," the chief minister said.
The Chandigarh police on Saturday registered an FIR against the 36-year-old BJP leader on charges of sexual harassment and wrongful confinement.
The Haryana Director General of Police set up a committee after Sandeep Singh lodged a complaint against the coach, claiming she had tarnished his image.
A 'khap panchayat' on Monday threatened to launch a big agitation if Sandeep Singh is not sacked.
The woman coach, meanwhile, recorded her statement before the Chandigarh police here on Tuesday.
A women's organisation also demanded that the Haryana government should have initiated criminal proceedings against the minister.
All-India Democratic Women's Association vice president Jagmati Sangwan said guidelines under 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013' or the POSH Act are clear, "an FIR should be registered and criminal proceedings be initiated against the accused".
"The matter involves a minister who has committed the alleged crime from a position of power. He has not resigned from his post and continues to exercise all the powers of a cabinet minister. He is in a position to influence the investigation," she said.
Jagmati Sangwan said the committee constituted by the Haryana DGP was not going to serve any purpose.
"When an FIR has already been registered by the Chandigarh police, this committee will serve no purpose, but it can only hamper the probe," she claimed.
The chief minister should immediately sack the minister and initiate a criminal case. The FIR which has been lodged in Chandigarh and they should be provided a fair environment to investigate him properly, she said.
Jagmati Sangwan, a former volleyball player, who has received the prestigious Bhim award for outstanding sportspersons in Haryana, said she has also served as assistant director, sports, of the MDU university in Rohtak earlier and knows very well what the woman coach must be going through right now.
"She should be given justice in the case. What other motive can be for her to level such allegations. Is she Sandeep Singh's political rival?," she asked.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)