New Delhi: The father of a minor wrestler recorded a fresh statement at Patiala house court on 5 June, in which he retracted the charge of sexual harassment brought against wrestling federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
This was confirmed by the minor’s father, and corroborated by officers with the Delhi Police.
“I had written some ‘false’ things the first time,” he told ThePrint, claiming that he and his daughter made such charges out of spite. “I was angry at him (Brij Bhushan) for making my daughter lose a crucial match,” he added.
When asked why he has decided to go back on his statement now, he said that he was “scared” and was “being threatened” and that this experience has been draining for him and his daughter both.
But he didn’t reply when asked specifically if he was threatened by Brij Bhushan, or was under pressure from the agitating wrestlers to lodge a fake complaint. “I support the cause of wrestlers,” he said.
To a pointed question on whether Brij Bhushan’s attempt to assault his daughter in a room was also false, he abruptly replied: “No sexual harassment happened.”
PTI has reported that the father “decided to tell the truth” after the government promised to review the trial where they claim she was unfairly judged.
In his initial complaint to the police, the father had graphically described an alleged assault of his daughter by Brij Bhushan, a BJP MP, and cited it as the reason why his daughter was discriminated against, and unfairly judged at a crucial trial. He had further mentioned that his daughter’s points in bouts weren’t counted and that videography was cut on and off repeatedly.
When asked why he lied earlier, he said, “Because I didn’t withdraw my complaint, I had recorded a fresh statement (on 5 June).”
ThePrint had reported that the father claimed that he hadn’t withdrawn his complaint, after news of the minor wrestler withdrawing her complaint against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief went viral Monday.
Back then, he had conceded that the journey to justice is proving to be extremely tough and that there are days when he and his daughter find themselves questioning their determination.
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‘Not withdrawal’
Deepanshu Bansal, the advocate representing the woman coach who accused Haryana sport minister Sandeep Singh of sexual harassment, said that recording of a fresh statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) cannot be called a withdrawal.
“The court can consider the first statement, too. It depends on the court’s discretion. Statements under Section 164 are recorded immediately after a complaint is filed so as to protect the witness from turning hostile by getting under pressure,” he said. “Re-recording of such statements is not a common practice.”
Delhi-based criminal lawyer Anas Tanwir said that this U-turn definitely weakens the case but courts may not turn a complete blind eye to the first confession. “Prosecution has the liberty to keep investigating the previous statement. But this backtracking definitely weakens the case. Out of 7 complaints, this one was the strongest against Brij Bhushan since it included charges under the POCSO Act,” he told ThePrint.
He added that the courts can investigate if the second statement was made under pressure, but that will happen only after a charge sheet is filed.
Bansal added that the police might consider the second statement as the basis of its investigation.
While the court may frown upon going back on crucial evidential statements, it will not in any way penalise the father or the daughter, Tanwir said. “Section 164 statements aren’t made under oath; these are free will statements,” he asserted.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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