Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh booked for molesting woman coach
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh has been booked on charges of sexual harassment and wrongful confinement at the complaint of a woman coach, police here said on Sunday.
The FIR against the 36-year-old BJP leader, who is also a former Indian hockey team captain and a first-time MLA, was registered on Saturday, they said.
The minister, however, has dismissed the accusations as baseless and has called for an independent probe.
"In the matter of complaint made by a lady coach of Haryana against Sports Minister Haryana, a case FIR dated 31.12.2022 under Sections 354, 354A, 354B, 342, 506 of the IPC has been registered at Police Station Sector 26, Chandigarh and is being investigated," a police spokesperson said.
A junior athletics coach from the state had on Thursday come up with allegations of sexual harassment against the minister and filed a police complaint a day later.
The former Olympian has been booked under IPC Section 354 which pertains to assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 B (compelling her to be naked), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
After receiving a complaint from the woman coach, Chandigarh Police had earlier said an inquiry will be conducted into the allegations against the minister.
The woman had told reporters on Friday: "I have given a complaint to SSP madam (Senior Superintendent of Police) here. I am hopeful that I will get justice and the Chandigarh Police will investigate my complaint."
She has alleged that Sandeep Singh had first seen her at a gym and then contacted her on Instagram.
The coach claimed that the MLA from Pehowa in Kurukshetra kept insisting that they meet. "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 had said.
She, according to her complaint, agreed to meet Sandeep Singh at his residence-cum-camp office here with some other documents she had. When she went there, the minister molested her, she said.
"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 he even tore my T-shirt. I was crying and I raised an alarm for help and though all his staff was there, no one helped me," she had alleged.
Asked about the allegations, Sandeep Singh had on Thursday called them baseless and called for an independent probe. "I want an independent probe. We will also get it probed because my image has been tarnished."
The minister also said that all details of the woman's entire life should be looked into.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier demanded an impartial inquiry into the allegations, while the Indian National Lok Dal asked the Manohar Lal Khattar government to immediately sack Sandeep Singh and set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
