India Football: AIFF refute allegations of sexual harassment made by Ranjit Bajaj against Kushal Das
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) have refuted allegations of sexual harassment made against the organisations general secretary, Kushal Das by Ranjit Bajaj, the former owner of I-League club, Minerva Punjab FC.
Bajaj who sold Minerva Punjab in 2020 after owning it for seven years had claimed that there were "two cases of molestation of employees at workplace" against Kushal Das and that the head of the committee which deals with sexual harassment complaints at the AIFF was “forced by president Praful Patel to bury the report”.
Person who humiliated him was none other than KUSHAL DAS drunkard general secretary of @IndianFootball -Savio sir is the best thing 2happen to Indian football development -AIFF did this just to spite me as I had offered to host pro license course for free-…cont.. pic.twitter.com/2N1eAr5BCU
— Ranjit Bajaj (@THE_RanjitBajaj) April 25, 2022
The AIFF for their part had refuted such allegations against Das, claiming that the allegations made by Bajaj were not only false but are also defamatory in nature.
….cont …..also the agency which gets all the logistics & management duties(like intercontinental cup) where no tenders are floated but given to someone who does special favours for the GS- THEN when the second lady employee who was molested went to Col Mehta….cont …
— Ranjit Bajaj (@THE_RanjitBajaj) April 25, 2022
"All statements and allegations made in this regard are false and fabricated, and made without an iota of evidence in support of the same. Further, no such complaints and/or concerns were received by the Internal Complaints Committee constituted by the AIFF as per the PoSH Act, 2013," they said in a statement.
…Cont..Who is head of madatory sexual harassment complaint officer of AIFF &he was forced to bury the report by @praful_patel so two cases of molestation of his employees at the workplace & the fact he starts(kushal DAS )drinking at 10 am in office???? #MeToo #indianfootball
— Ranjit Bajaj (@THE_RanjitBajaj) April 25, 2022
The AIFF follows a strong ethical code of conduct within the organisation, ensuring the protection and wellbeing of all its staff members. The allegations made by Bajaj are defamatory in nature, causing harm not only to Das but also to the entire footballing fraternity in India. In consideration of the same, the AIFF has considered it prudent to take appropriate legal action against the concerned individual.
"The AIFF will also refer the matter to the Executive Committee, and also to the AGM for appropriate action," they added.
AIFF Statement
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 25, 2022
Read ? https://t.co/FZL5aDzqQ3#IndianFootball
Das too said no such complaint has reached the AIFF committee in the last 10 years.
“There is always a women’s cell in the AIFF to look into any kind of allegations like these and there are no such allegations in the last 10 years. But let the women’s cell look into the allegations he has made and give a report before I say something and before the executive committee takes a decision," he told PTI.
After selling off Minerva Punjab FC, which is now competing in the I-League as Roundglass Punjab FC, Bajaj is now running Minerva Academy Football Club in Mohali. He has a history of run-ins with the AIFF which had suspended him for one year in 2018 after being found ‘guilty’ of making racist remarks against a referee.
In 2019, the AIFF reprimanded Bajaj for his strong comments against the AIFF on social media.