According to news agency PTI, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court will decide on July 7 regarding whether to take cognizance of the chargesheet filed by Delhi Police against Wrestlers Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in an alleged sexual harassment case against him.
The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal, who was supposed to pass the order on Saturday, acknowledged the Delhi police’s submission that their investigation is still ongoing, and a supplementary chargesheet is likely to be filed. The judge mentioned that the awaited FSL report and CDR (call detail record) report may take some time. Therefore, the case has been postponed for consideration on July 7.
Renowned Indian wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, staged protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for 38 days, demanding Singh’s arrest. However, the police detained them on May 28 for violating law and order. The wrestlers suspended their protest after Union Minister Anurag Thakur met them and assured them that the chargesheet in the case would be filed by June 15.
The wrestlers expressed their satisfaction with the government’s implementation of their demands based on talks held on June 7. The Delhi Police submitted the chargesheet on June 15 after investigating allegations of sexual harassment, which were based on an FIR filed by six women wrestlers. They stated that the fight for justice would continue in court and not on the roads.
Delhi Police had registered two cases against Singh after the Supreme Court’s intervention on April 28. One case was filed by six women wrestlers, and the other was by a minor woman wrestler who later changed her statements.
The Delhi Police later filed a 552-page cancellation report in Delhi Patiala House Court for the case filed by the minor woman wrestler, which is listed for a hearing on July 5. The minor was among the women athletes who levelled charges against Singh, who served as the head of WFI for 12 years.
As per Deputy Police Commissioner Pranav Tayal, Singh was charged under sections 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), and 354D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as previously reported.
