New Delhi: The chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in the sexual harassment case against BJP MP and wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is weak, protesting grapplers have said.
The charges indicate that the Delhi Police has clearly shielded Singh under pressure from the central government, an athlete said. He has been part of the sustained protests by top wrestlers to get punishment for Singh over harassment allegations.
The wrestler added that the main case against Brij Bhushan was that brought by the minor wrestler, whose father said he registered a second statement under pressure.
In this case, the police filed a 552-page cancellation report in court, saying there was no corroborative evidence found against Singh under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The wrestler said the “weak” chargesheet showed how necessary it is to arrest someone as influential as Singh. “If he had been behind bars, the minor’s case would not have wavered,” he said.
The minor wrestler’s father had recorded a fresh statement at Patiala house court on 5 June, in which he retracted the charge of sexual harassment brought against the wrestling federation chief.
The wrestler wouldn’t say if the filing of the chargesheet would end their protests which had been paused till 15 June. The decision to suspend came after top grapplers Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Malikkh met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence last week.
“Our legal team will first review the chargesheet and then we’ll decide our strategy ahead,” he said.
The Delhi Police on Thursday filed a chargesheet in the case of six adult women who has accused Brij Bhushan Singh of sexual harassment.
Singh has been charged under sections 354, 354A, 354D of the IPC concerning sexual harassment, molestation, stalking and assault.
The police, however, moved to cancel the minor’s case under Section 173 of CrPC, citing the second statement recorded by the minor and her father rescinded allegations they made in the initial complaint.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, Pranav Tayal, said Brij Bhushan Singh’s secretary Vinod Tomar has been charged under Sections 109 (abetment of offence), 354A (making sexually-coloured remarks), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. In the FIR, all complainants had named Tomar as an accomplice of Brij Bhushan.
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