SHILLONG, JUN 28: Acting on orders from the Meghalaya State Commission for Women, the Meghalaya Cricket Association has suspended Secretary Rayonald Kharkamni and handed lifetime bans to the Under-23 women’s team head coach and manager over a sexual harassment case and alleged cover-up going back to December 2025. MCA President James P.K. Sangma said on Saturday that Kharkamni’s suspension was effective immediately, pending disciplinary proceedings before the MCA’s independent Ombudsman, retired Gauhati High Court judge B.D. Agarwal. Head Coach Hemant Roy and Team Manager Sanjay Mondol were dismissed after a June 5 MSCW order found their conduct violated the POSH Act, 2013. “There is no space for sexual harassment in the MCA. Neither is there space for anyone who is a party to such misdoings,” Sangma said. The MCA will send a report of the findings to the BCCI, he added.
A second MSCW order issued Friday concluded that four senior officials failed to act on written complaints sent by women players to the MCA’s official email on December 2 and 3, 2025. The Commission said the association had also failed to set up an Internal Complaints Committee as required under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Held responsible for “grave negligence and non-compliance” were former President Nababrata Bhattacharjee, Secretary Rayonald Kharkamni, Operations Manager Shining Star Lyngdoh, and former Treasurer Dhrubajyoti Thakuria. According to the MSCW, none of the four launched an enquiry, reached out to the complainants, or triggered any redressal process despite having “actual or constructive knowledge” of the allegations. The absence of an Internal Committee left the players without recourse, the Commission noted. “The vacuum is, in itself, the central POSH Act violation in this case. Within that vacuum, the conduct of the Secretary stands out as the most serious individual default,” MSCW Chairperson Iamon Syiem wrote in Order No. MSCW/SH/26/2/522 dated June 26, 2026. The Commission directed the MCA President and Ombudsman to begin formal disciplinary action against the four and file a compliance report within 30 days.
Sangma said show-cause notices would go out to the four officials, with replies expected by June 30 for consideration by the Ombudsman. All four remain suspended until a verdict. On reports that Kharkamni planned a legal challenge to the MSCW order, Sangma said: “Kharkamni seems to believe the MCA is the same thing as the office of the Secretary. If he wishes to go to court, he goes in his personal capacity — as an individual. MCA does not pay legal bills for people involved with sexual harassment.”
The President also voided an Apex Council meeting held on May 9, saying it was convened by Kharkamni without approval and in breach of Article 29 of the MCA Constitution, which vests the right to chair in the President. The meeting went ahead despite a May 7 suspension order from Sangma and a May 8 stay by the Ombudsman, who had admitted Sangma’s complaint. “Despite my orders. Despite the Ombudsman’s orders. The Secretary went ahead and held the meeting,” Sangma said. He added that Kharkamni had used the same meeting to move for suspending the Ombudsman he had confirmed on March 7. All resolutions from the May 9 meeting stand suspended, Sangma said.
To address statutory gaps, Sangma announced the immediate constitution of an Internal Complaints Committee with an external member, as mandated by Section 4 of the POSH Act. The MCA will draft an anti-sexual harassment policy and conduct mandatory sensitisation for all office-bearers, coaches, selectors and support staff. “That is precisely why the Under-23 Women’s Cricketers had no remedy. No mechanism to go to. We are correcting that,” he said. The MSCW had also flagged reports of contraceptives found in players’ rooms at a Nongpoh hotel used for women’s camps and ordered the MCA to stop using it. Sangma confirmed the hotel would be discontinued for team use immediately. The Commission further cited alleged retaliation against complainants, including attempts to dissuade players from approaching it and threats of defamation suits, noting that confidentiality under Section 16 of the POSH Act was breached.
