JOIN USIndian hockey icon hits nadir over sexual harassment taint
Ahead of the 2006 hockey World Cup in Germany, India's ace hockey player Sandeep Singh was hit by a gunshot accidentally fired from the rifle of a policeman onboard a train connecting Chandigarh and New Delhi.
Singh, now a minister in BJP-ruled Haryana, suffered severe spine injuries. Just when everyone thought his sports career had ended, Singh rose like a phoenix two years later to play for India again. India qualified for the 2012 London Olympics under Singh's leadership as India's men's hockey captain.
But as meteoric has been the Olympian's rise to acclaim, both in sports and politics, his fall, too, has been dramatic. Sandeep Singh, who till Sunday was the sports minister in the BJP-led government in Haryana, appears 'down and out'. He was booked by the Chandigarh police yesterday on charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, stalking, and illegal confinement levelled by a woman athletic coach.
The survivor has also represented India at the international level. Hours after the police registered an FIR against the Haryana minister, Sandeep Singh said he had submitted his resignation as the sports minister on moral grounds, even as he continues to hold certain other portfolios in the Manohar Lal Khattar government.
As the controversy over sexual harassment charges rages with the Opposition baying for his blood, Sandeep's life had inspired Bollywood filmmakers in the past. His biopic Soorma was released on the big screen in 2018.
In the last Assembly elections in 2019, the BJP gave Sandeep Singh an opportunity to contest the election from Peohwa seat. His popularity being a successful former Indian hockey team captain, besides being a Sikh face in Jat-dominated politics in the state, worked toward his popularity, winning him the seat.
Singh, christened as Flicker Singh owing to his drag-flicker skills in hockey, was inducted as a minister in Khattar's Cabinet. Sandeep Singh represented India at Athens as the youngest Indian hockey player in the Olympics.
But the charges levelled by a woman athletic coach are bound to cast a shadow on Singh's rare feat in sports and politics. A cyber forensic probe, besides criminal investigation, will also be undertaken to ascertain the veracity of charges given that the survivor has disclosed in her statement of interaction with the minister on 'Snapchat' and other social media platforms.
The survivor has alleged that Singh sexually harassed her at his house in Sector 7 Chandigarh. She accuses him of trying to offer inducements in the form of sponsorships, etc. Sandeep has vehemently denied all allegations, saying he was confident that truth would triumph.