Sexual harassment case: Court rejects Brij Bhushan plea for further probe into claims

A DELHI court Friday rejected BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India ( WFI) Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s plea seeking further investigation of the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by six women wrestlers.

The Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot is likely to pronounce the order on framing of charges on May 7. Earlier, the court had deferred framing of charges against Bhushan since his advocate Rajeev Mohan sought further investigation in the case, alleging through an application that he was not in Delhi when one of the six wrestlers was allegedly molested.

Police in June last year had filed a charge sheet against Bhushan for alleged sexual harassment, assault and stalking of six women wrestlers. In its 1,500- page chargesheet, police had mentioned statements of at least 22 witnesses from across four states, including wrestlers, a referee, a coach and a physiotherapist, who have corroborated the allegations of the six women wrestlers against Singh.

Around 220 WFI staf fers, wrestlers, referees and coaches, along with Singh and his associates, were among those examined in the case.

Police had also filed a 550page report in the Patiala House Courts, requesting cancellation of the POCSO Act case against Singh after a wrestler who is a minor and her father, the complainant, withdrew their allegations against Singh in a fresh statement before a magistrate. This was after she gave two statements ( before the police and a magistrate) against the WFI chief.

Additional Sessions Judge Chhavi Kapoor had last September reserved October 6 as the date for deciding on the POCSO cancellation report, but the decision is still awaited. She recently deferred the decision on April 23 — an order is now likely to come in May.