Shillong, May 23: Meghalaya Cricket Association president James Sangma has said he would move court to facilitate an independent inquiry into the harassment of women cricketers.
The women’s commission is probing the matter after it received a complaint recently.
The commission had issued notice to the present and the past office bearers on May 14. for failing to take action.
When contacted by this reporter, James issued a statement expressing concern over the incident and also for not apprising him about the harassment case.
Full text below
It has come to my attention that certain media reports are currently circulating regarding allegations of sexual harassment made by members of the MCA Under-23 Women’s Cricket Team against the team’s head coach and manager. I am informed that the complaint, which has been filed with the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW), has also named the current MCA Secretary, Shri Rayonald Kharkamni, and former officials including the former President Shri Nababrata Bhattacharjee, former Treasurer Shri Dhrubajyoti Thakuria, and former Cricket Operations Manager Shri Shining Star Lyngdoh.
I wish to place on record that the allegations reported in the media are a matter of grave concern to me as President of this Association, and they demand to be treated with the full seriousness they deserve. Sexual harassment, in any form and in any setting, be it a sports association or any other institution or organisation, is completely unacceptable and must be treated with the utmost seriousness. Such behaviour holds no place in any sphere of the society.
Since assuming charge as President of the Meghalaya Cricket Association on 13th January 2026, following the formal handover by the outgoing Apex Council, it has been my firm resolve to chart a clear vision for the MCA, one that goes beyond developing and growing the game of cricket in our State. Central to that vision is a commitment to ensuring that the MCA becomes an institution where the workplace environment is safe, respectful, collaborative, and conducive to the growth and well-being of every individual associated with it.
What makes the matter before us particularly concerning is that the individuals named in the harassment complaint, the coach and the team manager, have been associated with the MCA for a considerable period of time. However, I wish to make it absolutely clear that tenure of being associated with the MCA does not, and cannot, serve as a shield or an automatic qualification for continued appointment, particularly when allegations of such a serious nature have been levelled against a person.
What makes the lack of action even more concerning to me that the named officials of MCA, of which the Secretary is also a present member, closely safeguarded such a serious issue and brushed matters under the carpet without informing anyone. The accused team manager was nominated for the NECDC Under-23 Women’s T20 Trophy, held from 6th to 11th April 2026, a list that was submitted to me for approval. As is evident from media reports, the Secretary had knowledge of the complaints against this very individual since at least 3rd December last year. It is beyond my comprehension that despite this knowledge, no effort was made to inform me when I took charge this year in January. Further even at a point when the list was approved, there was complete silence. Seems like only now that the complaints have come out openly, and the media is in the know-how of it, that suddenly there seems to be a concern by the Secretary to look into these complaints, six months after they were made.
I am conscious that the MCA elections were scheduled during that period, first scheduled for the 9th December and subsequently held on 19th December last year. However, that sequence of events provided ample time after December 3 for an inquiry to have been initiated or for the accused to have at the very least been placed under suspension pending inquiry. This was also the period when the named officials, including the current Secretary, were still in office.
And this is not it. As is evident in the media reports, two complaints were made, the other one being against the team coach.
Nothing was done against either complaints. No inquiry or communication was made. What is perhaps most telling is that the complainants did not even receive a basic acknowledgement or response from the MCA office at the time when the complaints was raised last year, which raises serious questions about how gravely, or rather how lightly, allegations of sexual harassment were being regarded by those in office at the time. I must note that the Secretary, who carries knowledge of this matter from that period, continues to hold office in the current body as well. Had I been informed by any person with knowledge of these complaints, at any point prior to my approval of the nomination list, the accused team manager’s inclusion in that list would simply not have been approved..
The complainants deserved better, and I deeply condemn the institutional failure of those entrusted with this knowledge, and of those who are supposed to be the guardians of the Association, has allowed the matter to remain unaddressed for as long as it has.
Feigning ignorance in the name of elections when a larger matter was at hand, misleading everyone when till date no inquiry was conducted or even a basic response given to complainants, tells the larger story of what the MCA has been and still continues to be for some people in it.
I must also bring to the attention of the public an important institutional matter that has a direct bearing on this case. Under the Supreme Court-approved Lodha Committee Reforms and the mandates of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), every State Cricket Association is required to have an independent grievance redressal mechanism in the form of an Ombudsman, a position that must be held by a retired High Court Judge at the minimum. This is not a discretionary arrangement but a legally mandated requirement. It is deeply troubling that this critical office was left vacant in the MCA from 2024 onwards, which effectively meant that for well over a year, any cricketer, official, or individual who had a dispute or grievance against MCA office bearers or Apex Council members had no independent mechanism to seek redressal. The absence of this office during the very period when these complaints were first made speaks for itself.
After I assumed charge, I moved to address this gap without delay. In a meeting of the Apex Council held in March 7, 2026, after a lapse of more than one and a half years, a new Ombudsman was duly appointed in the person of Justice (Retd.) BD Agarwal, former Judge of the Gauhati High Court. That meeting was attended by members of the Apex Council, including the current MCA Secretary, Shri Rayonald Kharkamni.
It is against this backdrop that the events of the past few weeks must be understood. On 8th May 2026, the Under-23 Women’s Cricket Team filed a complaint before the MCA Ombudsman as well regarding the sexual harassment allegations, availing themselves precisely of the independent mechanism that had been put in place to hear such grievances.
In my capacity as President, I put a supporting letter to the Ombudsman on the same day, stating that such a matter is of deep concern and it vitiates the atmosphere of the Association, especially when it concerns people in power, and therefore, in the letter, I requested the Ombudsman to kindly look into the complaint and requested to initiate a detailed investigation into this matter and also to protect the rights of the players who are bringing the matter forward.
What followed the very next day is deeply troubling. On 9th May 2026, without my knowledge as President and without seeking my approval, which is unconstitutional as per the rules of MCA, the Secretary convened a meeting with other members of the Apex Council, with the apparent objective of setting aside the office of the current Ombudsman altogether, which would have had the effect of rendering invalid any independent intervention into this very matter of sexual harassment. The Secretary mailed the Ombudsman following this, informing that the Ombudsman’s position may not function until any further process. The timing of this action cannot be ignored.
The Meghalaya State Commission for Women is currently also conducting due process, and I respect and fully support the Commission’s mandate and authority in this matter. It would be inappropriate for me to pre-empt or comment further on the specifics of the sexual harassment case while the inquiry is ongoing. However, I wish to state clearly that should the facts established through due process confirm the allegations made in the complaint, the MCA and I as President, will not hesitate to take the strictest action permissible against all those found culpable.
I will also seek to approach the Hon’ble Meghalaya High Court in order to ensure that the enquiry by the Ombudsman against the errant officials is not derailed through technical nuances. We have to protect our women cricketers and uphold their dignity. They are our pride who go and give their hard work, sweat and commitment for our state every day. And while living in a matrilineal society, we cannot fail them!
The MCA is an institution that must stand as a place of trust, dignity, and safety for every cricketer, official, and staff member associated with it. Sexual harassment and any conduct that endorses, enables, conceals it, or results in non-redressal has absolutely no place in this organisation. We must do better, for our players, for the game, and for Meghalaya.
Speaking the truth is often not the easiest thing to do, but it is always the right thing to do.
