As a Delhi court on Tuesday framed charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the accused pleaded not guilty in a criminal case filed by women wrestlers and claimed trial.
“Why will I plead guilty when I am not guilty?” said Mr. Singh in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Priyanka Rajpoot.
While ordering the framing of charges, the ACMM noted that prima facie, the conduct of accused no. 1 (Mr. Singh) demonstrates that he misused his position as WFI president to exert control over the victims and employed threats related to their career prospects as a means of intimidation.
The court referred to the instances mentioned in the FIR that even during wrestling events, the victims used to avoid going out independently, which reflects their fear and persistent threat posed by the presence of the accused.
“....the instant case discloses the offences of similar nature committed by the accused against the victims and that the allegations reveal a pattern of behaviour of the accused who exploited his position of power to sexually assault and harass female wrestlers over several years,” the court said.
It added that the continuity of the actions of the accused is evident from the consistent manner in which he allegedly leveraged professional settings and opportunities, such as the WFI office or during official travels, to perpetrate the crime in question. The uniform method of exploitation indicates the accused’s community of purpose across different victims to achieve his objectives.
‘Premeditated strategy’
“The allegations demonstrate that the offences committed against the victims were not random but part of a continuous sequence of events, suggesting a premeditated strategy to assault vulnerable victims repeatedly over several years. The modus operandi is consistent i.e., the exploitation of power and opportunity to harass subordinates,” the court noted.
The court also framed the charge against Vinod Tomar, co-accused in the case, who will be tried for criminal intimidation.
Many renowned wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat had protested for months in New Delhi last year, demanding the arrest of the BJP lawmaker for allegedly sexually harassing several women grapplers, including a minor. The harassment took place between 2016 and 2019 at the WFI office, at Mr. Singh’s official residence and also abroad, the victims alleged.
As the protest of the grapplers continued for weeks, the Sports Ministry had constituted an oversight committee to internally investigate the matter.
The police filed an FIR against the BJP MP after the intervention of the Supreme Court in May 2023. In June, a 1,000-page chargesheet was filed at the Rouse Avenue court.
A minor wrestler, who too had protested against Mr. Singh, later took back her complaint and changed the statement.
During the hearing on framing of charges, Mr. Singh maintained that the case is “false and motivated”.
