New Delhi:

The BJP has asked former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to take care not to create any row with comments at wrestlers, sources have said.

The former BJP MP faced allegations of sex harassment from some of the top athletes in the country including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik.

Mr Singh has alleged the allegations against him were a conspiracy hatched by the Congress, pointing at Ms Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia joining the Congress party ahead of the assembly election in Haryana.

“They (Mr Punia and Ms Phogat) were the faces… they were mohrey (pawns). They were used like pawns by (former Haryana Chief Minister) Bhupinder Hooda, the Congress and the Congress family,” Mr Singh told news agency PTI. “This was all conspired to gain a hold on the Wrestling Federation of India and to attack the BJP and its ideology… This team of Rahul (Gandhi), the Congress keeps doing these things,” he said.

It was in 2012 when Mr Singh first got control of the WFI after a bitter turf war with Mr Hooda.

Following Mr Singh’s latest comments, the BJP asked him not to pass any more comments against the wrestlers, sources said.

Haryana sends a large number of sportspersons to national teams. Athletes in the state are seen to command large loyal followers, and this may have prompted the BJP to caution its former MP to keep quiet.

The BJP does not want to see any new narrative linked to the wrestlers’ protest, which had drawn a lot of support in Haryana, sources said.

After the allegations made by the women wrestlers, the BJP did not give Mr Singh a ticket from Kaiserganj and made his son Karan Bhushan Singh the candidate in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year.

Karan Bhushan Singh won the election by a margin of over 1.48 lakh votes, defeating Samajwadi Party’s Bhagat Ram.

On Friday, both Ms Phogat and Mr Punia said they would continue the fight against Mr Singh with the former asserting she would ensure that no woman faces what she had to go through.

The 30-year-old, who is a two-time world championships medallist besides being an Asiad gold-winner, will contest from Julana constituency. Mr Punia has been made the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has refused to provide any relief to former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The court has asked Singh’s lawyer to submit a short note with all his contentions for quashing the case against him.

Singh’s petition seeks to contest the continuation of these proceedings against him. He faces charges of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of women.

Brij Bhushan has challenged the FIR, the chargesheet, and the trial court’s order related to the framing of charges in the case. His petition seeks to contest the legal proceedings against him in connection with the complaints filed by several women wrestlers.

He contended that the investigation was done in a biased manner as only the version of the victims, who were interested in taking revenge against him, was considered and the charge sheet was filed before the trial court without taking care of the falsehood of allegation.

Brij Bhushan, a six-time MP who represented Gonda, Balrampur and Kaiserganj, was denied a ticket for this year’s Lok Sabha elections after sexual harassment allegations by six women wrestlers. He also had to step down as the WFI chief.

New Delhi:

The Rouse Avenue court on Friday recorded the statement of a woman wrestler, one of the complainants in the sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Her testimony was taken in a vulnerable witness room.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Priyanka Rajpoot recorded the statement of victim Further recording of her statement has been deferred for September 10.

The statement of the victim was recorded through the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastava.

Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was also present during the hearing.

During the day, the court said that the statement of the victim is to be recorded in the vulnerable witness room. Media won’t be allowed during the recording of victims’ statement.

Defence counsel Rajiv Mohan had objected that he wouldn’t cross-examine the victim through video conferencing.

He had said that the provision of cross-examination through video conferencing is only for the minor not for adult victims.

On the other hand, counsel for complainants submitted that this victim squarely covered under the provision of vulnerable witness.

Earlier, DCP New Delhi appeared before the court and submitted that security was not withdrawn. There was some miscommunication and the same has been rectified.

After the recording of the statement, DCP joined the proceeding through video conferencing (VC). On query, he submitted that they don’t have any plan to withdraw the security till the deposition of witnesses is completed.

In January 2023, some women wrestlers protested against Brij Bhushan accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation.

Delhi police filed a chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar on June 15, 2023. This case was lodged on a complaint lodged by female wrestlers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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