Brij Bhushan's Actions Regarding Women Wrestlers Were Deliberate And Ill-Intentioned: Delhi Police To Court

In a significant development regarding the case involving Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Delhi Police made a strong argument in court on Saturday. The Delhi's Rouse Avenue court was actively engaged in deliberations regarding the framing of charges against Singh following a chargesheet filed in a sexual harassment case involving six women wrestlers.

Representing the Delhi Police, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava highlighted that Singh consistently displayed behavior intended to "outraged the modesty" of the women wrestlers at every opportunity he got. He emphasized that Singh's actions were deliberate and ill-intentioned, as reported by India Today. 

Srivastava presented a compelling case with three crucial pieces of evidence against Sharan Singh. These included a written complaint and two recorded statements, as per Sections 161 and 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), providing a solid foundation for framing charges.

The debate in court also revolved around the question of jurisdiction. Brij Bhushan Singh's lawyer argued that cases outside India required a sanction under Section 188 of the CrPC for the Delhi court to adjudicate. However, Srivastava countered this argument by referring to a prior judgment, asserting that sanction would be necessary only if all offenses occurred outside India. Given that some of the incidents took place in Delhi and other locations, Srivastava contended that no such sanction was necessary.

Moreover, Srivastava revealed that all witnesses in the case had pointed to co-accused Vinod Tomar, a former additional secretary of WFI, as aiding and facilitating Brij Bhushan Singh's actions. Tomar had played a significant role in managing the day-to-day affairs of the wrestling body before his suspension.

The charges against Brij Bhushan Singh, a six-time MP, include Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Notably, Brij Bhushan Singh and suspended WFI additional secretary Vinod Tomar were granted bail by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal on July 20.