Shillong, June 28: Meghalaya Cricket Association ( MCA) President James Sangma apprised BCCI president regarding sacking of Head Coach Hemant Roy, the then Assistant Manager, Sanjay Mondal and MCA honorary secretary Rayonald Kharkamni
Full unedited text of the letter below
Greetings Mr. Saikia,
I write to you in my capacity as President of the Meghalaya Cricket Association (“MCA”) to formally apprise the Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) of deeply disturbing developments concerning the sexual harassment of members of the MCA Under-23 Women’s Cricket Team, the findings returned by the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (“MSCW”) in relation thereto, and the disciplinary actions I have taken as President with immediate effect. I write in the spirit of transparency, accountability and the shared duty that all cricket institutions owe to the women and girls who represent the sport.
Background
Complaints of sexual harassment were submitted by members of the MCA Under-23 Women’s Cricket Team to the MCA official email on 2 December 2025 and 3 December 2025, alleging acts of sexual harassment by the then Head Coach, Shri Hemant Roy, and the then Assistant Manager, Shri Sanjay Mondal, committed during the team’s participation in matches at Agartala. These complaints came before the Meghalaya State Commission for Women, which registered the matter as Case No. MSCW/SH/26/2 and conducted proceedings in accordance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”).
Findings of the MSCW
The MSCW has issued two orders in this matter, both signed by its Chairperson, Smt. Iamon Syiem.
The first order, bearing No. MSCW/SH/26/2/423 dated 5th June 2026, returns findings of guilt against Shri Hemant Roy (Head Coach) and Shri Sanjay Mondal (Assistant Manager) for substantive acts of sexual harassment under the POSH Act, 2013. The Commission found, on the basis of oral testimony corroborated by multiple complainants and witnesses and confirmed by documentary evidence including WhatsApp messages, that Shri Hemant Roy subjected women players to repeated suggestive comments on their bodies and physical appearance, used vulgar and abusive language during team meetings, engaged in targeted personal harassment and humiliation of individual players, and used intimidation against them. Shri Sanjay Mondal was found to have physically assaulted a woman cricketer at his hotel room in Agartala — a finding he ultimately admitted to before the Commission, albeit attributing it to intoxication, a defence the Commission rightly and strongly rejected.
The second order, bearing No. MSCW/SH/26/2/522 dated 26th June 2026, addresses the institutional failure of the then office-bearers of the MCA in not acting on the complaints received. The Commission returned a finding of grave negligence and non-compliance with the POSH Act, 2013 specifically against the then Secretary of the MCA, Shri Rayonald Kharkamni, among others including Nababrata Bhattacharjee (former President), Dhrubajyoti Thakuria (former Treasurer) and Shining Star Lyngdoh (Manager Cricket Ops), holding Kharkamni’s conduct “stands out as the most serious individual default” on account of a direct contradiction in his own account and corroborated evidence of a conscious decision to defer and suppress action. The Commission directed that show-cause notices be issued, the matter be placed before the MCA Ombudsman, and immediate corrective and disciplinary action be taken.
In this regard, you must know that ever since the cricketers have brought to notice of the Ombudsman the complaints regarding harrasment, Kharkamni has systematically tried to suppress the office, even when he had agreed to the original appointment of Justice (Retd.) BD Agarwal. This position, while being mandated by the Lodha Committee and BCCI, was kept vacant in the MCA under Kharkamni, robbing all members at the MCA of any kind of grievance redressal measure.
Action Taken by the MCA President
In the exercise of my emergency powers as President of the MCA under the MCA Constitution, and in compliance with the directions of the MSCW, I have taken the following actions with immediate effect on 27th June 2026:
(i) Shri Hemant Roy has been dismissed from the position of Head Coach of the MCA with immediate effect and permanently debarred from all roles, functions and activities within the MCA. The gravity of the MSCW’s findings, the corroborated pattern of harassment, and the retaliatory intimidation of complainants through a family member who holds a position as Selector in the MCA, together warranted a response that goes beyond the MSCW’s minimum direction of a three-month suspension.
(ii) Shri Sanjay Mondal has been dismissed from the position of Assistant Manager of the MCA with immediate effect and permanently debarred from all roles, functions and activities within the MCA. His conduct, established by the Commission’s findings and his own admission, constitutes a grave violation of the dignity and bodily autonomy of a woman cricketer and may independently attract consequences under applicable criminal law.
(iii) Shri Rayonald Kharkamni, Honorary Secretary of the MCA, has been suspended from his office with immediate effect, pending disciplinary proceedings. A show-cause notice has been issued to him calling upon him to explain, within three days, why formal disciplinary action should not be initiated. Simultaneously, and in compliance with the MSCW’s directions, the matter has been placed before the MCA Ombudsman for initiation of internal disciplinary proceedings and for consideration of his removal from any position involving contact with women players or influence over team administration.
A Larger Concern
I would be failing in my duty if I did not place before you a concern that extends beyond the facts of this particular case. What the MSCW’s findings reveal is a pattern that is, regrettably, not unique to Meghalaya: individuals entrusted with positions of administrative and technical authority over young women cricketers, exploiting those positions for personal gratification and institutional self-protection.
The complaints were in the MCA’s inbox for months. They drifted. No one acted. A young woman cricketer was physically assaulted in a hotel room by the man entrusted with managing her team. The Head Coach made comments about the bodies of the players he was supposed to be developing. And when complaints were eventually filed, there were attempts to intimidate the complainants into silence.
The integrity of women’s cricket in this country depends on the collective resolve of cricket institutions — from the BCCI downward — to ensure that those who hold positions of power over players do not abuse those positions, and that when they do, consequences follow swiftly and without equivocation. As President of the MCA, I am committed to that resolve. But I write to you today because the MCA cannot, alone, address the systemic vulnerabilities that allow such conduct to persist across associations.
Request for BCCI Cooperation
I respectfully request the BCCI to:
(a) Take note of the findings of the MSCW and the actions taken by the MCA in respect of Shri Hemant Roy, Shri Sanjay Mondal and Shri Rayonald Kharkamni, and record the same in the BCCI’s official records as warranted by applicable BCCI rules and guidelines.
(b) Consider whether, consistent with BCCI’s own governance framework on prevention of sexual harassment, any further action at the national level is warranted in respect of individuals found guilty of such conduct by a statutory Commission, including with respect to their involvement in any BCCI-affiliated activity, programme or structure.
(c) Extend such cooperation and guidance as the BCCI is able to offer to the MCA as it undertakes the broader institutional reforms directed by the MSCW, including the constitution of a duly compliant Internal Committee under Section 4 of the POSH Act, 2013, the adoption of a formal anti-sexual harassment policy, and the establishment of safe sporting protocols for women’s teams.
(d) Treat this communication as a request for support in strengthening the governance, welfare and protection frameworks for women cricketers across member associations, so that what happened to the Under-23 Women’s Cricket Team of Meghalaya is never repeated anywhere in Indian cricket.
I am enclosing copies of both MSCW orders (No. MSCW/SH/26/2/423 dated 5th June 2026 and No. MSCW/SH/26/2/522 dated 26th June 2026) for your reference and record along with the orders for suspension and dismissal. I am available to discuss this matter further at your convenience and would welcome an opportunity to brief you directly on the steps being taken by the MCA.
The women cricketers of Meghalaya deserve the full weight of this institution’s protection. I am grateful for the BCCI’s attention to this matter and look forward to your cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
James P.K. Sangma
President
Meghalaya Cricket Association
