The Delhi Police have said that after investigation, they are filing a chargesheet against main accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, and his assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the sexual harassment complaint filed by women wrestlers.Charges against Singh, who is a sitting MP from Kaiserganj, are related to seeking sexual favour, sexually suggestive conduct, explicit actions like touching, while Tomar has been charged with abetting the said offences and intimidation.
“In the FIR registered by the wrestlers, after completion of investigation, we are filing a chargesheet for the offences under Sections 354, 354-A and 354-D of the IPC against accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and for offences under Sections 109, 354, 354-A and 506 of the IPC against accused Vinod Tomar before the court,” the Delhi Police said in a statement on Thursday.
A police source said last week more than 155 people have been questioned in the investigations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. The investigations followed months of complaints by the country’s top wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medallists.
In an interview on Wednesday to local media, Singh rejected all allegations against him.
The wrestlers began a sit-in protest against the lack of action in April and were briefly detained by police in New Delhi as they cleared the site the following month.
Images of the athletes being dragged away and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.
The wrestlers also threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges — India’s holiest river — before agreeing to meet Home (Interior) Minister Amit Shah and later the sports minister.
Amid mounting outrage, the wrestlers suspended their protest after Sports Minister Anurag Thakur promised a June 15 deadline to conclude the probe into Singh.
