For a sportsperson who bagged the gold medal in the 50m rifle three positions, and in some style – with a new games record, in the Commonwealth Games, Sanjeev Rajput is anxious.
Without a job for 10 months now, Rajput has been through rough times ever since a case of rape was registered against him by a fellow shooter in December 2016.
The former Navy man was fired from his job as an assistant coach with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on June 27, 2017. Rajput said he was surviving on his Navy pension.
“…his conduct during the period of probation has not been found satisfactory therefore his services are hereby terminated with immediate effect,” the termination letter signed by director (coaching) Sanjeev Sharma read.
Before the termination, he was served with a suspension letter on December 8, 2016, when the allegation surfaced. In the letter signed by SAI secretary SS Chabbra, he was told to report to the coaching division in the SAI headquarters and told not to leave it without permission.
After he was selected to represent India in three back-to-back tournaments in May, 2017, the rifle ace sought permission from his superiors to travel abroad. His request was denied and later he was served with the termination letter after he went ahead and took part in the competition.
“They terminated my contract on a complaint which is sub-judice,” Rajput told The Tribune after consulting his lawyer Randhir Lal. “This termination is against the law as it has been done prior to the judgment by the court or any other competent authority,” he added.
“I am surviving on a pension as I lost the job because of the allegation. That in turn made sure nobody ever approached me to coach them. It would have given me some avenues to earn. I don’t know how have I survived all this,” the 37-year-old said.
Interestingly, SAI, through its official Twitter handle, re-tweeted Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s congratulatory post after Rajput won the seventh gold medal for India in shooting in Gold Coast.
Ever since he retired from the Navy, Rajput, who is a multiple medallist in the Commonwealth and Asian Games, has made several representations besides writing several letters to the Haryana Government, seeking a job, but to no avail. For years he has also been snubbed for the state’s highest sporting honour — Bhim award.
But the gold medal in Gold Coast has raised his hopes that he may be rewarded this time. The state has announced Rs 1.5 crore for the gold medallists.
