Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 7: Delhi’s Rose Avenue Court has summoned to appear on July 18 the outgoing president of the Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP Member of Parliament, accused of alleged sexual harassment by several athletes.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal at the Rouse Avenue court directed Brij Bhushan and the suspended assistant secretary of WFI Vinod Tomar to appear on July 18. The court said on Friday there was sufficient evidence to proceed against the accused.
The Delhi Police had filed a charge-sheet against Brij Bhushan, a six-time MP, on June 15 with charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and stalking. The charge-sheet came after complaints by several female wrestlers and the delay triggering an international furore.
On April 21, seven female wrestlers, including a minor, had filed separate complaints of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation against Singh at Connaught Place police station.
The wrestlers had approached the Supreme Court, stating that police were not registering the FIRs. Subsequently, police registered two FIRs on April 28 that have at least two instances of Singh allegedly demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance. The minor and her father, the complainant later withdrew their complaints against Singh in a fresh statement before a magistrate.
The Delhi Police have booked Singh under sections 354, 354A, and 354D of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with criminal force for outraging a woman’s modesty, sexual harassment, and stalking respectively. WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar has also been accused of abetting an offence and criminal intimidation under sections 109 and 506, respectively, in addition to accusations of sexual harassment and outraging a woman’s modesty.
The common charges against Singh and Tomar, under sections 354 and 354A of the IPC, are usually classified as “offences against women.” Besides this, Singh has separately been accused of stalking under Section 354D IPC while Tomar is accused of criminal intimidation and abetment of an offence under Sections 506 and 109. Tomar has also been separately charged with criminal intimidation and abetment of an offence under Sections 506 and 109 of the IPC.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, and even issued a defiant statement refuting all charges. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail. One of his aides said the lawmaker “will continue to cooperate with police and will respect the court’s decision.”
The wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medallists, began a sit-in protest against Singh in January and then returned with a demonstration in April against the lack of action. They were briefly detained by police in New Delhi as they cleared the site the following month. Images of the athletes being dragged away and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.
The wrestlers at one stage had also threatened to throw their medals into the holy river Ganges before agreeing to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and later Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. Amid mounting outrage, the wrestlers suspended their protest after Thakur promised a June 15 deadline to conclude the police probe into Singh’s conduct.
Earlier on Tuesday, another court had sought a response from the “victim” and the complainant on the final report filed by Delhi Police seeking cancellation of a case against Singh for alleged sexual harassment of the “minor” wrestler, the lawyer for the prosecution said.
Additional Sessions Judge Chhavi Kapoor issued notice to the “victim” and complainant during in-chamber proceedings and directed them to file their response to the police report by August 1, when the court would further hear the matter. “The judge issued notice and adjourned the matter,” special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava said.
The Delhi police had on June 15 recommended dropping of POCSO charges against Singh but charged him with sexual harassment and stalking six women wrestlers. The police had recommended the cancellation of the complaint filed by the “minor” wrestler against Singh, citing “no corroborative evidence” after the minor and her father withdrew the complaint against Singh. However, the court may take a call on whether to accept the police’s closure report or direct further investigation.