Delhi Police yet to receive complaint against hockey coach

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police is yet to receive any complaint from Hockey India (HI) asking it to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by woman players against former coach MK Kaushik.

“We have not received any letter yet. I am not aware of it,” Police Commissioner YS Dadwal said.

Kaushik was in the eye of a storm after player Ranjita Devi complained to Hockey India that he harassed her sexually.

Taking serious note of the complaint, Hockey India on Saturday referred the matter to Delhi Police asking it to immediately investigate into the matter as it involves the allegations of outraging the modesty of a woman.

A senior police official said after receiving the letter from the Hockey India, they will look into it and decide on the course of action.

Stung by the allegations, Kaushik resigned from the post of coach on July 21 as the hockey establishment launched a thorough probe into the sex scandal which has rocked the national game.

Hockey India also sacked videographer Basavraj, who was purportedly clicked with “prostitutes” during the recent Canada and China tour, after photographs were sent to it through an anonymous e-mail.

The hockey governing body had also set up a five-member panel to probe the allegations.

“We feel that the committee does not have coercive powers to go into the issue. In view of the Supreme Court judgement in the Visakha case regarding sexual harassment at workplace, we are marking a copy to Delhi Police commissioner for taking suo motu notice so that this can be taken to its logical conclusion,” HI secretary general Narinder Batra said.

Batra said that the committee’s demand for more time to inquire into the matter was turned down by HI since it did not want to waste any more time.

“Let the Government of India or police file an FIR for investigating the matter,” he said on Saturday.

Earlier, Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) expressed its unhappiness at Hockey India setting up an “all-male” panel to look into sexual harassment allegations against Kaushik, which was in violation of Supreme Court guidelines.

“Ideally, the committee enquiring sexual harassment ought to have a woman as a chairperson and 50 per cent of its members as female and a NGO representative to ensure fairness and complete objectivity of the enquiry. It should therefore be constituted on these lines,” DCW chairperson Barkha Singh had said in a letter to Union Sports Minister M S Gill.