Brushed hands against breasts, stalked, demanded sexual favours: Wrestlers in FIR against WFI chief
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh allegedly inappropriately touched the women wrestlers on the pretext of checking their breath, demanded sexual favours and stalked them, the FIRs filed by the wrestlers against him have alleged.
FIRs filed against the WFI chief by the Delhi Police reveal the women wrestlers' ordeal of years of sexual harassment and how some were treated indifferently “for not supporting him”.
On April 28, two FIRs were filed - one combining complaints of six wrestlers and a separate one based on the complaint of a minor wrestler’s father.
The first FIR also names WFI secretary Vinod Tomar as an accused, while the second FIR invokes Section 10 of the POCSO Act, which entails a prison sentence of five to seven years. The incidents allegedly occurred between 2012 to 2022.
WFI chief Brij Bhushan has been booked under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 34 (common intention). He has also been booked under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Brushed hand against minor wrestlers’ breasts
Sharing his daughter's ordeal, the father of a 17-year-old wrestler revealed that when she won a gold medal at a championship that took place in India, the accused “had forcefully pulled the girl towards him on the pretext of taking a photo and held her so tightly that she couldn’t move or free herself from his grip”.
The minor wrestler, who is currently 17 years old, has competed in a number of championships. She'd been wrestling since 2016.
In the FIR, her father stated, "He deliberately slid his hand down her shoulder and brushed his hand against her breasts."
The WFI chief, according to her father, advised the victim to keep in touch with him. "I will support you if you support me. Stay in touch with me," Brij Bhushan allegedly advised the victim, to which she replied, "Sir, I've come this far on my own, and I'll work hard to go forward."
However, he allegedly warned her that Asian Championship trials were coming up shortly and that if she didn't cooperate, "she'll have to bear the repercussions in the trials."
Groped me when I was out for dinner
"One day while I was out for dinner in the hotel restaurant, the accused (Singh) called me separately to his dinner table," one of the wrestlers claimed. To my utter shock and dismay, he placed his hand on my breast, touched me, and then slipped his hand down to my stomach without my consent."
"To my surprise, he did not stop there and moved his hand upwards to my breast once more. He groped my breast and then slid down his hand to my stomach and then back to my breast 3-4 times," one of the wrestlers revealed, according to the FIR.
Asked for sexual favours
"To further fulfil his sexual intentions, he also tried to bribe me by offering to buy me supplements that I may require as an athlete in exchange for sexual favours," another wrestler claimed.
The oversight Committee kept on switching the camera on and off at repeated intervals
"During the recording of my statement, I noticed that they [Oversight Committee] kept on switching the camera on and off at repeated intervals," another wrestler claimed in the police FIR.
Furthermore, the members of the Committee were trying to rationalise the accused's acts as if nothing wrong had occurred. The Committee looked to be sitting with the intention of favouring the accused." "Because I was unsure whether my statement had been recorded completely or not, I requested a copy of the video recording from the Committee, but the Committee refused to provide me with a copy." This strengthened my strengthened that the Committee was partial and biased... "
"I fear that despite the Committee having been constituted to look into the allegations against the accused, I would not get justice as the accused is a powerful and connected person and the Committee appears to be acting as per his instruction,” she alleged.
- With inputs from agencies
