Brij Bhushan Singh charged with sexual harassment, no evidence in minor’s case: Delhi Police to court

DELHI/ BNITIMES.COM / Bureau News / Editor Vishal Sharma/ 15 june 2023 17:10

Indian police on Thursday charged the country’s wrestling federation president with sexual harassment and stalking, following months of protests by the sport’s top figures demanding his arrest.

Brij Bhushan Singh, who is also a lawmaker for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been accused by Olympic medallists and other Indian wrestling champions of groping women athletes and demanding sexual favours.

Some of India’s top athletes supported a weeks-long sit-in in the capital New Delhi, where they called for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president to be arrested.

Delhi Police said in a statement that “after completion of investigation” they charged Singh with sexual harassment and stalking under the Indian Penal Code.

Public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava confirmed the charges had been filed.

Vinod Tomar, a Singh acolyte who served as WFI assistant secretary, faced the same charges as well as criminal intimidation and abetment.

Singh, 66, is serving his sixth term as a lawmaker from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and has headed the wrestling federation for over a decade.

He has been accused of inappropriately groping and propositioning seven wrestlers on several occasions.

He has denied the allegations and claims to be the victim of a “conspiracy” to force him out of parliament.

The most serious charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years.

Police said one of the accusations against him — lodged by a minor — had been withdrawn.

Singh was bunkered down at home in a leafy New Delhi neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon with a large police contingent placing barricades around his compound and restricting traffic into the area.

There was no indication of whether he would be taken into police custody.

The wrestlers at the centre of the protest could not immediately be reached for comment.