WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh charged with sexual harassment, assault, stalking in wrestlers' case

Delhi police have finally filed the charge sheet against BJP MP and WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the wrestlers' sexual harassment case. Read on to know the details of the charge sheet.

New Delhi:After months of dilly-dallying, Delhi police on Thursday filed a charge sheet against BJP MP and WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for the offences of sexual harassment and stalking.

The charge sheet was filed under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation), Special Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava told the media outside the court.

While the filing of the chargesheet must have come as a relief for the protesting wrestlers, they also faced a setback as police recommended the cancellation of a complaint filed by a minor wrestler against Singh, citing "no corroborative evidence". The move was on the cards since the minor's father had recently admitted to filing 'false' sexual harassment allegations against the WFI chief though many claimed his statement was out of duress.

"We have filed the final report in the POCSO case. The next date of hearing is on July 4," Srivastava said. On April 28, Delhi Police registered two cases of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan Singh at the Connaught Place Police Station. The police have written to wrestling federations of foreign nations seeking specific details as the complaints relate to overseas instances in as many as five countries.

As the foreign federations are yet to respond, the charges pertaining to the instances referred to in the complaint as having occurred abroad will be added to the supplementary charge sheet, the police said. The details sought by the Delhi Police include photos and videos of the tournaments held by the federation. It also sought the CCTV footage of the places where the wrestlers were provided accommodation by the organisers, according to the senior officials who are privy to the investigation.

Over 180 quizzed: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was formed to probe the allegations levelled against the WFI chief has so far questioned more than 180 people. The SIT visited the BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh's residence in Gonda. It recorded statements from the Parliamentarian's relatives, colleagues, domestic aides, and his associates.

One of the woman wrestlers was taken to the MP's official residence in the national capital for recreating the sequence of events which led to the crime as alleged.