PNN & Agencies
New Delhi, Feb 3: Under-fire India hockey captain Sardar Singh rubbished Wednesday the alleged sexual harassment charges levelled against him by a British hockey player of Indian origin and said that even though he knew her they never got engaged as claimed by the woman.
However, in spite of his denials, Ludhiana police commissioner Pramraj Singh Umranangal formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to inquire into the complaint. The team will be headed by ADCP Satbir Singh Atwal, ACP Purewal and SHO Kum Kalan Police Station, SS Nagra. They have been instructed to start an inquiry immediately, Umranangal said. The woman visited the police station February 1. She had specifically come to India to file the complaint.
The 21-year-old woman had filed her written complaint with Ludhiana police, claiming she has been engaged to Sardar for the past four years and alleged that he ‘mentally, physically and emotionally tortured’ her.
She also alleged that Sardar forced her to abort their child last year against her wishes and later refused to marry her. Sardar however, stated that he would only answer against the allegations after the completion of the HIL.
“Presently my full concentration is on the ongoing HIL. After last night’s (Tuesday) match, I came to know about the allegations. Tomorrow (Thursday) I have a match again. The allegations are very serious. I will look at the report and consult my lawyer. I will answer all questions but I need some time,” Sardar stated.
It should be stated here that in an exclusive interview to Orissa Post (December 6, 2014), Sardar had stated that he was seeing the same girl who also represented the Great Britain junior side. He had also informed then that marriage was not on the cards for the next three-four years, but ‘he and the woman’ frequently meet and talk. In fact in 2014, the woman had flown over to the Netherlands to spend time with Sardar when the Indian team was playing a tournament there.
Asked whether he got engaged with the complainant, Sardar outrightly denied it and said: “Nothing like that happened between us.”
The 21-year-old, in a startling revelation, has also claimed that Sardar, whom she met during the London Olympics in 2012 (Sardar in the interview had said that he met her on FB) and has been engaged to him for the past four years, also forced her to abort their child in 2015.
“I met him during the London Olympics and he finally proposed to me during the 2014 World Cup in the Hague. He then invited me to his native village where Sardar and his family formally initiated the engagement,” she alleged.
“After this me and Sardar were expecting our first child in mid-2015. I spoke to him regarding this and he said sorry ‘I don’t want to have the child and you must abort it immediately otherwise I won’t speak to you’. So under pressure I aborted our child,” added the woman.