NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation has strongly refuted and vowed “appropriate legal action” against Ranjit Bajaj, former owner of Minerva Punjab FC, for what it asserts are “defamatory allegations” made on Tuesday against AIFF general secretary Kushal Das.
Bajaj on Monday alleged that Das had molested employees at work, a charge vehemently rejected by the national body.
Bajaj, who sold off Minerva Punjab FC in 2020 after a tumultuous seven years of running the club, alleged on his Twitter handle that there were “two cases of molestation of employees at workplace” and the head of the committee which deals with sexual harassment complaints at the AIFF was “forced by president Praful Patel to bury the report”.
Bajaj made his allegations in a lengthy Twitter post which SportzPower is not reproducing as it comtains a string of unverified accusations.
Asked about the charges by PTI, Das 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,” Das told the newswire.
“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.”
The AIFF, on its part, stood behind its top official and said it will take “appropriate legal action against the concerned individual”.
“All statements and allegations made 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,” the AIFF said in a statement.
“The AIFF follows a strong ethical code of conduct within the organisation, ensuring the protection and well-being of all its staff members.
“The allegations made by Mr Bajaj are defamatory in nature, causing harm not only to Mr 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.”
