Ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh acquitted in women wrestlers' sexual harassment case
PTC News Desk: The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Monday acquitted former BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, along with co-accused Vinod Tomar, in the sexual harassment case filed by women wrestlers.
The case stemmed from an FIR registered by Delhi Police after women wrestlers staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, alleging they were sexually harassed during Singh's tenure as WFI chief.
Following its investigation, Delhi Police filed a 1,500-page chargesheet on June 15, 2023. The trial was based on allegations made by several women wrestlers from India and abroad, who accused Singh of sexual harassment while he headed the Wrestling Federation of India.
The acquittal comes a few months after Olympian Vinesh Phogat revealed that she was one of the six women wrestlers who had filed complaints in the case. In a video message released earlier this year, Vinesh said she had kept her identity confidential to comply with Supreme Court guidelines that protect the identity of survivors of sexual harassment.
She also alleged that the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) continued to operate under Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's influence. Vinesh claimed that holding ranking tournaments at a college owned by Singh in Gonda could affect fair competition for athletes preparing for the 2026 Asian Games.
Earlier, Singh had also been cleared in a separate case involving a minor wrestler after a Delhi court accepted a police report recommending that the case be closed.
With Monday's verdict, the criminal proceedings related to the complaints filed by the six adult women wrestlers have, for now, come to an end, closing one of the most high-profile controversies in Indian wrestling over the past three years.
- PTC NEWS
