Wrestlers’ sexual harassment case: Brij Bhushan Singh gets interim bail from Delhi court

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

New Delhi, July 18, 2023: Outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused by several women wrestlers of sexual harassment, today got interim bail for two days from Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court.

 

The court questioned the Delhi Police on bail for Mr Singh, to which they said the accused is not meeting any witnesses.

Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), was also granted bail.

Brij Bhushan Singh had to furnish a personal bond of ₹ 25,000.

The two accused appeared before the court in pursuance of summons issued to them, and sought bail in the case.

The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against the six-time MP on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Mr Tomar was charged with offences under IPC sections 109 (abetment of any offence, if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 354, 354A and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s counsel alleged media trail, to which the judge said he may move an application before the high court or trial court. The court will pass an appropriate order on the application, the judge said.

The counsel, however, did not move any application in this regard.

Besides the present case, another FIR was registered against Mr Singh pursuant to allegations made by a minor wrestler, which was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. She was among the seven female grapplers who had accused Mr Singh of sexual harassment.

Both the FIRs mentioned several alleged instances of sexual harassment like inappropriate touching, groping, stalking and intimidation by Mr Singh at different times and places over a decade.