Will oppose hoisting of national flag by accused Sandeep Singh: Khaps

According to him, a memorandum addressed to the President will also be sent.

The khap leader said: “We have given an ultimatum to the government to remove the accused minister from the Cabinet and to arrest him by January 23. We have also demanded early completion of the ongoing inquiry by Chandigarh Police.”

According to Yudhbir Singh, a committee of the khap leaders will be formed after January 23 to take further course of action. The khap leader said that they had met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his visit to Jhajjar two days ago seeking adequate security for the woman coach.

For the past nearly two weeks, khap panchayats have been holding meetings to seek action against the minister insisting that a fair probe is not possible till the accused is holding an important chair of minister in the government.

Khattar had earlier stated that “levelling allegations against someone and registration of an FIR because of that doesn’t prove anyone guilty”. He also said that resigning from the minister’s post on moral grounds comes into play only if the person concerned thinks he has made a mistake. On January 2 also, Khattar had stated that “an allegation doesn’t make a person guilty”. Raising objections to the statement of Khattar, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala on Tuesday alleged that the CM was making every attempt to give a “clean chit” to Minister Sandeep Singh.

On December 31, the Chandigarh Police had lodged an FIR against Sandeep Singh, a former Olympian, on charges of stalking, illegal confinement, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation. Sandeep Singh has been terming the allegations against him baseless since the beginning.