Congress’ Hooda demands resignation of Haryana minister booked for sexual harassment
Chandigarh, Jan 12 (PTI) Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday demanded the immediate resignation of Sandeep Singh, who has been booked in a sexual harassment case, and said a fair investigation would not be possible if he remained a minister.
Hooda, a former Haryana chief minister, said Singh should resign as a minister on moral grounds without delay. Without his resignation, a fair investigation would not be possible.
Former Indian hockey team captain Singh has been accused in a sexual harassment case filed by a junior athletics coach. Singh allegedly harassed her at his residence-cum-camp office in Chandigarh where she had gone to meet him for some official work.
Chandigarh Police registered an FIR against Singh on the basis of her complaint.
Dubbing the committee set up by the Haryana Director-General of Police on Singh’s complaint even as the woman coach lodged her case with Chandigarh Police, Hooda said, “The Haryana SIT (Special Investigations Team) will serve no purpose.”
Haryana Director-General of Police PK Agrawal has formed a three-member panel to probe Singh’s complaint regarding baseless allegations made against him.
On the case against Singh, Hooda said, “I am not holding him guilty or innocent but what I am saying is that there should be a fair inquiry into the allegations levelled by the woman coach.
“He should resign on moral grounds but I know there is no morality left in this government.”
Hooda, the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, added that when he was chief minister, one of his ministers had resigned to facilitate an impartial probe into a case.
Speaking on the committee to probe into Singh’s complaint, Hooda pointed to several SITs set up by the state government to investigate various issues.
“Earlier, in the case of a police DSP’s (Deputy Superintendent of Police) murder in Nuh district last year when he was crushed by a dumper truck, the SIT limited the entire investigation to just one driver while no action was taken against the big fish in illegal mining.
“So, like this case, we have seen many cases which were suppressed in the name of SITs. Under the present government, SIT does not mean Special Investigations Team but SITs have become Suppress the Internal Truth,” the Congress leader said.
Hooda also questioned why the state government’s senior law officer was defending Singh as defence lawyer.
If the government cannot facilitate an impartial probe, they should hand over the matter to the CBI or there should be a high-court monitored probe, he added.
On Monday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had reiterated that levelling allegations alone did not make anyone guilty and said Singh was still a Minister.
Singh had earlier handed over his Sports portfolio, which is now being handled by Khattar.
