In the alleged sexual harassment case lodged against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, while the court granted him one-day exemption from appearance, the Delhi Police have said “the accused never missed an opportunity to sexually harass women wrestlers”.
The police made the submission before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal of Rouse Avenue Court, saying that there is sufficient evidence to frame charges against Singh.
Delhi Police cited alleged incidents from Tajikistan in its case against Singh, claiming that these events show his awareness of his actions. According to the police, during an event in Tajikistan, Singh forcibly hugged a woman wrestler and later justified his actions by saying he did it like a father.
Another complaint from the Asian Championship in Tajikistan alleges that Singh lifted a woman wrestler’s shirt without permission and inappropriately touched her stomach. Delhi Police argued that these incidents occurred outside India but were relevant to the case.
The police stressed that it’s not a matter of whether the victims reacted to the incidents but rather that they were wronged. They also mentioned an alleged incident at the WFI’s office in Delhi and asserted that the National Capital was the appropriate jurisdiction for the complaints.
After hearing the matter at length, ACMM listed the matter for hearing next on October 7. During the last hearing, the Delhi Police had told the court that he was not exonerated by the oversight committee constituted by the government to investigate the allegations levelled against him.
“Singh was not exonerated by the oversight committee. The committee had given recommendations, and not a decision. Nowhere has it been stated that these allegations are not substantiated or are false,” special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava had told the court.
He had also urged the court to frame the charges against Singh, stating that even a mere gesture can constitute a crime under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
