Facing allegations of sexual exploitation by a 21-year-old British hockey player, India hockey skipper Sardar Singh on Wednesday denied the charges.
Facing allegations of sexual exploitation by a 21-year-old British hockey player, India hockey skipper Sardar Singh on Wednesday denied the charges.
Ashpal Kaur Bhogal, who claims to be Sardar’s fiancée, had said that she has been in a relationship with him since 2012.
Rubbishing the claim, Sardar denied that he was engaged to her. However, he did not deny knowing the woman, who is said to be his long-time girlfriend. Punjab Police are investigating a complaint from Bhogal, who once played in the Britain Under-19 women’s team.
Meanwhile, police in Ludhiana have formed a special investigation team to probe the complaint. The team has been asked to verify the facts and also get Sardar to join the investigation.
Sardar, who is a DSP in Haryana and currently playing in the Hockey India League, told this paper, “I will read the report given to the police and hold a press conference on Thursday to clarify the matter.”
Sardar’s father Gurnam Singh too denied the allegations that the complainant was engaged to the India skipper, saying she was a friend who had visited their home in Sirsa once.
Earlier in the day, Sardar reached Chandigarh for a HIL match and told reporters, “I will first see what report the police have written. I was not engaged (to the complainant).
“I have just come from a game last night. I am concentrating on the next game,” he said.
Investigations in the case have been marked to the Koom Kalan police station in Ludhiana district. Police station in-charge S.S. Nagra confirmed the matter was under probe. The woman had complained to Ludhiana police commissioner P.S. Umranangal who marked an inquiry into it.
The woman alleged that Sardar Singh got engaged to her in 2014 and she became pregnant last year. She said the player forced her to go for an abortion and began avoiding her thereafter.
The complainant, who is seen at almost all the tournaments involving the India team, said she met Sardar in 2012 after becoming friends through Facebook. She claimed they began living together after their engagement.
In the past, Sardar Singh had posted tweets and photographs with the woman.
