New Delhi: Wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said Wednesday that he would hang himself if any charge of sexual harassment was proved against him.
The BJP MP said he was ready to accept punishment by a court if wrestlers could present evidence of wrongdoing.
Singh mocked the wrestlers’ threat to toss their medals in the Ganga – and called it “emotional drama”. “Kab hua, kaha hua, kiskey saath hua… I would like to tell my accusers that I won’t be hanged if you throw your medals in the Ganga. If you have any proof, give it to the police,” Singh dared the athletes.
India’s top wrestlers have protested since January this year, demanding government action — including Singh’s arrest — over allegations of sexual harassment brought against him by seven women wrestlers, among them a minor.
Medal winners Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat – the unified face of these prolonged protests – were also briefly detained Sunday while they tried to march towards the new Parliament building during its inauguration. The Delhi Police immediately cleared their campsite at Jantar Mantar where they have sat since 23 April.
Slapped with various charges, the wrestlers gathered on the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri Tuesday evening, and threatened to throw their medals in the river. They were dissuaded by prominent farmer leaders at the last minute, who convinced them to give the government five more days to act.
“For us, our medals are sacred, and so is the river Ganges,” wrestlers said in a statement Tuesday morning. “This holy river is the perfect custodian of our medals, not the system that shields the offender,” they added, in a direct reference to Singh being present at the Parliament’s inauguration functions, which were overseen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After the first round of protests in January, following which Singh said he would no longer contest as the wrestling body’s president, the wrestlers were back in Jantar Mantar at the end of April – this time, demanding Singh’s arrest.
After a serious nudge from the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police registered two cases against the BJP leader — one under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) as one complainant is a minor and the other for a comprehensive investigation into the complaints.
News agency ANI, however, reported Wednesday that the Delhi Police had so far found no supportive evidence to arrest Singh.
“The sections of POCSO added in the FIR have less than seven years’ of punishment, so the investigating officer cannot proceed with the arrest as demanded by the accused,” ANI quoted top police sources.
They, however, said that a final report on the matter would be filed in 15 days, which could be in the form of a chargesheet. Sources added Singh was neither influencing witnesses, nor destroying evidence.
Also read: Party silent, BJP MP Brijendra Singh tweets in support of wrestlers again — ‘can feel their pain’