Wrestlers' Protest: Chargesheet Filed Against WFI Chief, POCSO Complaint Quashed

New Delhi: The de facto leader of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has been charged by the Delhi Police at the Rouse Avenue Court on June 15. Alongside Singh, Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary of the federation, is also facing sexual harassment charges. These charges come after wrestlers accused Singh of misconduct, leading to an ongoing investigation.

Eight days after the protesting wrestlers met with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his Delhi residence, Thakur assured wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and others that the investigation would be completed by June 15, followed by the submission of a chargesheet.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the Delhi Police PRO stated, "We are filing a chargesheet for offenses under sections 109/354/354A/506 IPC against accused Vinod Tomar, and for offenses under sections 354, 354A, and 354D IPC against accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the FIR registered by the wrestlers before the concerned Hon'ble Court."

Case cancellation request submitted to Patiala House Court

Regarding the POCSO matter, the police PRO stated, "After completing the investigation, we have submitted a police report under section 173 Cr PC requesting for the cancellation of the case based on the statements of the complainant, i.e., the victim's father, and the victim herself." The court will review the matter again on July 4.

The Patiala House Court in Delhi has received a cancellation report in the case involving the juvenile. Atul Srivastava, the public prosecutor, informed PTI that the court has scheduled July 4 as the next hearing date due to the involvement of the POCSO Act.

According to various accounts, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating Singh questioned 180 individuals, with 25 statements recorded. Additionally, written requests for information about Singh have been sent to wrestling federations in five different countries. The police anticipate filing a supplementary chargesheet once they receive responses from all the federations. The subsequent hearing for the submitted chargesheet is scheduled for June 22.

It has been approximately six months since multiple Indian wrestlers accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, of sexual assault. Despite the FIR against him, no legal action has been taken yet.

Led by medalists Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia, several wrestlers staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in May, demanding Singh's arrest. The protests intensified on May 28 when the police mishandled and detained prominent athletes during their march towards the inauguration of the new Parliament building in Delhi. Subsequently, they traveled to Haridwar with the intention of discarding their medals in the Ganga River.