New Delhi: In 2021, a 30-year-old constable from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had accused the Chief Sports Officer (CSO) of a ‘sex scandal’, sexual harassment, rape and threatening her and other female constables for several years, using his position, power and the support of other coaches and officers in the CRPF.This complaint was against Khajan Singh, previously a national swimming champion, who was felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 1984. He has also represented the country in the Commonwealth Games in 1982 and the Olympics in 1988. Khajan’s tenure in the CRPF has seen number of complaints against him for sexual harassing constables.Khajan, who is in his last year of service, runs his own swimming academy in Delhi. But his trajectory sits tainted, as women CRPF constables have time and again accused Khajan and his subordinates of forcing them to render sexual favours.Women who have complained against Khajan told The Wire that they do not want to risk their lives by speaking to the media. They have also said that with the kind of power Khajan has, they fear that they would be dismissed for accusing him of misdemeanour publicly. Khajan is also capable of hiring multiple lawyers and slapping defamation cases on anyone who dares to speak up, they said.Threats and intimidationIn 2014, Mahima* complained against Khajan Singh and coach Surjit Singh, referred to as Khajan’s ‘right-hand man’, saying they had engaged in sexual harassment and intimidation. She complained to a number of officials within the CRPF on the harassment, and later also filed an FIR for intimidation.In Internal Complaints Committee hearings over the years, Mahima* and other women like her have been traumatised by repeated questions where they have been coloured by Khajan’s counsel as athletes who use drugs, or as deceitful women who are lying to tarnish Khajan’s position, or as underperformers who are complaining out of frustration. While a few have decided it is safer to not complain against Khajan, those like Mahima are still fighting their fears and appearing for cross examinations – hearing after hearing.In documents accessed by The Wire, Mahima alleges that soon after she lodged an FIR against DIG Khajan Singh and his accomplice, times turned tough for her. Not only was she threatened, but she and her family were also arbitrarily asked to vacate government quarters. She has also alleged that post her complaint, she was approached by a CRPF employee who urged her to write an apology letter to Khajan and withdraw her case.In between allegations made by Mahima and other constables, a senior and decorated CRPF official told The Wire that they too were targeted and were removed from the panel probing the sexual harassment allegations against Khajan.When The Wire contacted Mahima, she refused to speak, saying she fears risking her career and life to Singh’s influence on those around her. In February 2023, she sought protection from the court and the CRPF. She also contacted the National Commission for Women as well as several senior officers who allegedly paid no attention, and instead started retaliating against her and contributing to making her work environment hostile. They later denied that she had ever complained to them.‘I brought girls for him’Vikram Malik regrets several decisions he has made, and wants to try and make things right. “[Khajan] Singh has gone even beyond harassment in the case of these constables,” he alleged. The Wire could not independently verify this allegation.“Singh is influential, even politically. How is it possible to serve in Delhi during your full tenure? He does not even let people progress in their own careers beyond him,” said Malik.Malik, a CRPF constable, also revealed that Khajan had gotten a co-commandant of the 88 battalion transferred because post her inquiry against him, the woman officer dismissed Singh’s accomplice, Surjit Singh.Malik told The Wire that at the time of admission into the CRPF, Khajan used to eye certain women to target. “They would only admit those whom they wanted to harass later. And if a constable would refuse to render sexual favours, they would harass her sexually and even use rules to make the constables suffer,” he said. For those who complied, rules were bent as and when convenient.Malik has admitted to being asked by Khajan to ferry women constables to several different places for him, where Khajan would sexually exploit them. “I have seen this very closely, he used to ask me to pick up and drop women constables to different flats in Delhi. I have told the same to the enquiry committee, that I brought girls for him,” Malik said. Malik obeyed his bosses and did what they asked him to, and says that he did not fully realise that he was assisting them in exploiting his colleagues.Malik also alleged that Khajan’s brother, who has retired from the Border Security Force recently, tried to intimidate Malik into withdrawing his statements on the case.Withdrawal of statementsAt the centre of this case is a controversial withdrawal of serious allegations by another constable, Manpreet*.In December 2018, Manpreet filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against Khajan Singh. The aggrieved constable had also raised the matter of sexual harassment within the CRPF, post which an Internal Complaints Committee was formed with personnel from the CRPF as well as external members. Manpreet, a CRPF wrestler, had alleged in an FIR against the duo that they had blackmailed her and threatened to leak intimate photographs, which she alleges they had taken secretly while she was bathing.In 2020, the ICC members received Manpreet’s repeated requests to withdraw her complaints, while also asking for a change in the members of the ICC as she did not ‘trust’ them. In late 2020, a new committee was constituted and in December of that year, Manpreet gave a comprehensive statement to the ICC, detailing repeated assaults and strategies used to victimise, manipulate and subjugate her. However, within a few months, Manpreet began withdrawing the complaints she had made, stating that she had given the statement unthinkingly, in a fit of rage.A confidential anonymous document received by a senior CRPF commandant decoded the change in Manpreet’s demeanour. The document talks about out how Manpreet had been able to afford Rs 1.5 crore to help her relative buy a plot of land in Punjab’s Sri Muktsar Sahib district near Faridkot. This document, which The Wire has accessed, alleges that Khajan Singh purchased Manpreet’s withdrawal in exchange for cash.In October 2021, Manpreet deposed that she had made the present complaint in fit of anger as she was thrown out of the department’s wrestling team on grounds of indiscipline as she had an argument with one of the fellow members of the team. The court then acquitted Khajan.A former IG in the CRPF has seconded these allegations in the confidential document. The official has also said that Manpreet’s withdrawal is testament to the kind of influence Khajan has. This former CRPF official was also targeted because of their stand against Khajan and transferred out of their office.The Wire also spoke to Khajan Singh, who said that he has nothing to do with the matter after a Delhi court relieved him of all the charges. On the allegations made by constables, Khajan said, “I have nothing to say about why and what charges were made, the court has relieved me.” He did not say anything about the ICC enquiry, which is still ongoing.The Wire also contacted Asiya Shervani, the external member of the currently active ICC which was formed in late 2020, to investigate both Mahima and Manpreet’s formal complaints against Khajan. She refused to share any details, but said that both enquiries are at an advanced stage. “We are conducting hearings and recording statements on a daily basis and we hope to conclude both the inquiries within a couple of months,” Shervani said in an email. She has also suggested that completing the enquiry has taken longer than expected since the charges are grave, and said due process is being followed while also taking care of the emotional and psychological impact on the complainants, witnesses as well as the charged officer.To understand the status of the internal inquiry, The Wire also contacted IG CRPF Sonal Mishra twice via email. This article will be updated if a response is received.