New Delhi: The Delhi Police informed a court Friday that a special investigation team (SIT) had been formed to probe allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava informed Rouse Avenue Court’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal that a status report has also been filed by cops in a sealed cover. The matter will be heard next on 27 May.
Sources in the Delhi Police said the SIT would be headed by a senior woman officer. “An SIT has been formed with six police teams including four women police officers,” a senior officer said.
According to sources, the Delhi Police has twice recorded the statement of Singh during which he denied the allegations levelled against him by seven women wrestlers, among them a 16-year-old minor.
The Delhi Police has also recorded the statement of over 30 people (witnesses) in the case. While the minor’s 164 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) statement has been recorded, the other six wrestlers’ statements in front of the magistrate are yet to be taken. Last week, their 161 CrPC statements were recorded by the police.
Sources said Assistant Secretary (WFI) Vinod Tomar – another accused — has been questioned in the case. A police officer said: “Singh will further be interrogated by the SIT. He has been asked to produce some documents and will be summoned again.”
It is also learnt that Delhi Police teams visited Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana to collect evidence on the basis of the complaint filed by the wrestlers.
The Delhi Police on 28 April filed two FIRs in the matter after the country’s ace wrestlers hit the streets against Singh in January. The first FIR pertains to the allegations lodged by the minor wrestler under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The second FIR has been lodged on the allegations of the other women wrestlers against Brij Bhushan and Vonod Tomar.
They are in the middle of a second sit-in protest at Delhi Jantar Mantar, this time accusing the police of inaction.
On 26 April, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Delhi Police, seeking a response on the wrestlers’ petition. According to law, inaction violated the top court’s mandate that probe agencies must lodge an FIR when they receive a complaint about a cognizable offence.