Indian professional sprinter, Dutee Chand on May 21, 2019, said she will take legal shelter against people blackmailing and criticising her over revelation of being in a "same-sex" relationship.

Alleging some media organisations for intruding into her private life, she said: "I will take shelter of the law against persons and organisations.”

Dutee, 23 said that she had kept the identity of her partner a secret, but still some channels had dug it out and revealed the name and picture. "One should not poke their nose into the private life of other persons," said Dutee.

As per reports, on being asked whether she will initiate legal action against her sister, whom she accused of "blackmailing" over the relationship, Dutee said, "The person may be my blood relation, but I will not spare anyone intruding into my privacy."

The Asian Games silver medalist is one of the few athletes in the world to openly admit being in a same-sex relationship

Dutee's elder sister Saraswati said, "My sister is being misled by some people. She is not saying (the) right things."

Earlier, Dutee had said, "I am having a relationship with a 19-year-old woman from my village for the past five years. She is studying B.A. second year in a Bhubaneswar college. She is a relative of mine and whenever I come home, I spend time with her. She is a kind of soul-mate for me and I want to settle down with her in future."

Coming down heavily on her elder sister, Dutee said: "She (elder sister) has thrown out my elder brother from home because she does not like his wife. She has threatened me that same will happen to me. But I am also an adult who has individual freedom. So, I decided to go ahead with this and make it public."

In a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India, the apex court had struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, making same sex relationship between consenting adults a non-criminal act. However, the marriage between such individuals is still not legal in India.