The Delhi Police submitted before the court that the incidents allegedly committed by Singh, overseas and inside India are part of the same offence.
Women Wrestlers’ Sexual Harassment Case: In the case of alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Delhi Police on Saturday urged a court here to frame charges against the latter. Delhi Police has opposed the contention of the accused that since some of the alleged incidents took place overseas, they do not fall in the jurisdiction of courts in Delhi, as it concluded arguments on framing charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The Delhi Police submitted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot that the incidents of sexual harassment, allegedly committed by Singh, overseas and inside India, including Delhi, are part of the same offence.
“Delhi court has jurisdiction to try this case,” the police told the judge. The next date of hearing in the matter is 20 January.
Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet in the case against Singh, a six-time MP, on June 15, 2023, under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Kaiserganj. His political career is marked by many controversies. He was booked under the anti-terrorism law Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) in 1993 for harbouring the shooters of the Dawood Ibrahim gang who allegedly organised the JJ Hospital Shootout in Mumbai. He was later acquitted after spending several months in jail.
He is currently at the centre of the accusations of sexual harassment by India’s top female wrestlers, wherein seven female wrestlers including one minor have testified against him in an FIR. These wrestlers include Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat.
In January 2023, Indian wrestlers began protesting for an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh during his tenure as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The female wrestler complainants accuse Bhushan of groping, touching breasts and navels without consent, stalking, intimidation, and demanding “sexual favours” in exchange for professional help. Singh has denied all allegations in front of a government-appointed committee.
The sit-in protests were organized at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi in January 2023, making the sexual harassment allegations against Singh. After an assurance that the Central Government would form a committee to look into the allegations, the protests were called off in January 2023. The report by the committee was submitted on 5 April 2023 but not made public. The protesters resumed their protest on 23 April 2023, citing inaction by authorities and bias by the committee to favor the accused.
(With PTI inputs)