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The videographer of the Indian women's hockey team M Basavraja was sacked following allegations of sexual exploitation against him, chief coach M K Kaushik and other members of the support staff.
The decision was taken by Hockey India's four-member committee after national team player Th Ranjitha Devi accused the entire backroom staff of pressurising her and other team members of the team for sexual favours.
Ranjitha is part of the Commonwealth Games probables who had graduated to the women's team after impressive performances at the junior level and last played for India in March. Kaushik and Ranjitha, along with other support staff members, have been asked to appear before the committee on Wednesday.
Rajeev Mehta, one of the members of the inquiry committee and a Hockey India official, confirmed the developments.
"These are serious charges made by Ranjitha who is a national player. We are looking into it and have already sacked the videographer. Since he is a SAI official, we have also sent our recommendation to SAI for them to take any action," Mehta told The Indian Express.
Sudarshan Pathak of Hockey Delhi, another member of the committee, confirmed that they were looking into the allegations but refused to divulge details. The other two members of the committee, former national players Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal, and top HI officials declined comment. The women team's support staff against whom the allegations have also been made too refused to speak on the issue.
The official complaint mentions that members of the support staff were in the habit of getting "escorts" to team hotels on official tours abroad and, at times, even missed team meetings because of the "indulgences". Ranjitha alleged that she was dropped from the team because she refused to give in to wishes of officials.
"Kaushik has been with the team for more than a decade now and such allegations have never surfaced against him, so we are taking it very seriously. Till a final decision is taken, he will not travel with the team," Mehta said.
The Indian team is to leave for the 1st Asian Champions Trophy which is being held from July 27 to July 31 in Busan, Korea.
While Kaushik was not available for comments, sources close to him said that he had decided to stay away from team training till the matter was resolved.
"Though he is deeply attached to women's hockey, he has decided to not only stay away from training but also request Hockey India to discontinue his services. After almost 15 spotless years with the national team, he has decided he doesn't deserve this," said a close associate of Kaushik.
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