Former Indian women's hockey captain whose story inspired 'Chak De India', files domestic violence case

Former Indian women hockey captain, Waikhom Suraj Lata Devi, has registered a police complaint claiming domestic violence, physical assault and mental tortour by her husband, said police.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Suraj Lata Devi stated that, she was put through harassment by her husband right from the time they got married in 2005 and dowry was the prime cause.

Under her captaincy, Lata Devi had led the Indian women’s hockey team to win three gold medals in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, an event that resulted in the making of Bollywood blockbuster ‘Chak De! India”, the 2003 Afro Asian Games and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup.

"My husband Shanta Singh ridiculed me when I brought all the medals and photos that I had won on the day of my marriage and had remarked what use would it serve?"

Her husband also accused her of having won the Arjuna Award because of her wrondful bearing, she said.

Lata Devi stated that she had been living through the harassment in the belief that her husband would change. "I never wanted the matter to become public. However, there is always a limit to someone's patience and tolerance," she said.

The former hockey captain stated that she eventually took the decision after her husband in an intoxicated state allegedly assaulted her in Punjab’s Kapurthala in Novenber last year while she was officiating at a tournament.

Earlier, Deputy SP of Sultanpur Lodhi Sarwan Singh stated that the FIR had been filed after the complaint registered by Lata Devi with the Manipur Police in January.

Consequently, her husband was booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty).

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