Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh not allowed to hoist tricolour on Republic Day

Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh who has been booked for sexual harassment of a junior coach will not be allowed to hoist the tricolour on Republic Day.

Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh who has been booked for sexual harassment of a junior coach will not be allowed to hoist the tricolour on Republic Day. The Sarva Khap Mahapanchayat gave the decision under Dhankar -12 Khap (a caste council of 12 villages) at Davla village in the Jhajjar district.

The Khap gave an ultimatum to the state government asking it to sack the minister from the Cabinet by January 23. Khap Panchayat will meet the Governor, the President, and the Vice President.

On Sunday, Haryana Minister Sandeep Singh, who has been booked for sexual harassment, was questioned by the police, sources said. According to sources, Singh was sent a 41A notice by the police to cooperate with the investigation.

Police have also seized two mobile phones belonging to Sandeep Singh, they added. Last month, the woman, who is a junior athlete coach, held a press conference at the office of the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), wherein she alleged that the then sports minister harassed her from February to November last year, by repeated messages on social media and had touched her inappropriately and also threatened her in messages.

The Chandigarh police have registered an FIR against Sandeep Singh under sections 354, 354A, 354B, 342, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiated the investigation. During her press conference, the woman coach demanded that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar-led government must immediately sack Sandeep Singh and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. Dattatreya has handed the Sports Ministry to Khattar.

Following the allegations, Sandeep Singh on January 1 said that he has handed over the responsibility of the Sports Department to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar until the report of the investigation is out and further added that the allegations have been levelled against him to spoil his image. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)