Hockey India asks for time till Olympics from DCW to respond on Sardar Singh case

Responding to the notice, Hockey India said in a letter to DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal that the body needs time till the end of the Olympics to respond on the matter with the Indian hockey team busy with the six-nation tournament and the Olympic Games.

"We shall provide you with a detailed response once the team is back from Brazil and after ascertaining and verifying all the facts as stated by you in your notice dated 14 June, 2016," HI said.

The case against Sardar had surfaced in early January after a British hockey player of Indian origin accused him of “sexual harassment”. The woman claimed that she has been engaged to the Indian skipper for the past four years and alleged that Sardar "mentally, physically and emotionally tortured" her. The woman, who also alleged that Sardar forced her to abort her child in 2015 against her wishes and later refused to marry her, had filed a written complaint against him with the Ludhiana police. After the complaint, she was informed by the Punjab police that they cannot take action against Sardar Singh since the incident did not take place in their jurisdiction. They had asked her to file a complaint with the Haryana Police, who have jurisdiction over Hisar and Panchkula, where the incident allegedly took place.