The tiff between Hockey India (HI) secretary general Bhola Nath Singh and former captain Asunta Lakra has taken an ugly turn.
The chairman of HI’s ethics committee, Justice (retd) Raghvendra Kumar, has issued a show cause notice to Lakra on a complaint filed against her by hockey player Albela Rani Toppo.
This development comes a day after the Sports Ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association to form an independent panel to probe Asunta’s allegations of sexual harassment and institutional intimidation. She had also claimed that Singh had threatened her with consequences for raising the issue of sexual harassment of girls in Jharkhand at the hands of a coach, Sudhir Golla.
“It is to inform you that Ms. Albella Rani Toppo has moved two applications against you addressed to the secretary general, Hockey India, New Delhi dt. 05-04.2026 and 09.07.2026 respectively making certain allegations against you,” Justice Kumar says in the show cause notice.
“Vide Hockey India letter dt. 10.07.2026, I have been requested to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the allegations levelled against you. The copies of both the complaints are hereby transmitted to you with the direction to file the reply/response thereof within 30 th July 2026. If no reply/response is submitted from your end within the aforesaid period, it shall be deemed that you have nothing to say in your defence and the fact-finding inquiry shall accordingly proceed as per established procedure of law,” the letter added.
Lakra has always been open about Toppo’s complaint, which she states came about after she had a falling out with Singh over the sexual harassment case in Jharkhand. Toppo has alleged that Lakra had threatened to end her career with the Railways and said she would never be selected for the senior national team camp.
‘Not on the same page’
Justice (retd) Kumar’s letter further makes it clear that the secretary general and president, and former India captain Dilip Tirkey are not on the same page when dealing with such issues.
The sports ministry asked for an independent panel after Tirkey sought a probe, saying it would be inappropriate for the body to look into the matters as both the individuals – Lakra and Singh – were executive board members of the hockey body.
“Since both the complainant and the respondent are members of the Hockey India Executive Board, it would not be appropriate for Hockey India to conduct the inquiry through its own ICC, as this may give rise to concerns regarding impartiality,” Tirkey said in his letter to HI EC members on Thursday.
“Accordingly, I have requested the secretary, Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of India, to constitute an independent committee to inquire into the matter. Hockey India will extend its full cooperation to the committee and remain committed to ensuring a fair, transparent, and impartial process. I request all Executive Board members to maintain strict confidentiality and refrain from any action or communication that may influence the inquiry,” he added.
Exclusive: Hockey India hits back, issues show cause notice to Asunta Lakra
