Minor wrestler's father makes U-turn, withdraws sexual abuse charges against WFI's Brij Bhushan, says didn't sexually harass my daughter

New Delhi, June 8: In a significant development, the minor who accused Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and stalking has withdrawn her allegations. It was reported that the minor gave a fresh statement before a magistrate u/s 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), thus holding evidentiary value before a court.

  

 

The court would now be tasked with deciding whether the case could proceed in light of conflicting statements under the provisions, and which statement would carry more weight.

 

The father claimed that he and his daughter had made some “false allegations” against the Wrestling Federation of India chief. The girl's father, who recorded a fresh statement before the magistrate in New Delhi on June 5, told HT over the phone that the WFI chief had not sexually harassed his daughter, but his approach was “partial in nature against her”.

 

He added that levelled the allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan “out of anger” because her daughter had lost in the final of the last year’s trials for the Asian Championship. The father, however, made it clear that they had not withdrawn the earlier complaint but recorded fresh statements.

 

"The entire staff on match duty was from Delhi and the opponent girl also hailed from Delhi, which is illegal… I have changed my statement. Some allegations were true and some were false. Brij Bhushan had not sexually harassed my daughter but his approach was biased against her… I had received threatening calls but I will not reveal their names. I had sold my house to bear the expenses of my daughter. Without anyone's influence, I had re-recorded my statement," the girl’s father said.

 

"We have no grudge against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We had recorded fresh statements on June 5 and we changed a few of our earlier statements. I am a father of a girl, and I don’t want to get involved in this fight. I had not withdrawn the complaint but recorded fresh statements. In anger, we had levelled some false allegations, and my daughter had faced some issues but all those mentioned in the FIR were not true," he added.

 

He further said that their entire family is in depression and his main aim is to make her daughter a champion. The girl’s father also told HT in the last couple of days that he, along with his daughter, was away from New Delhi and visiting a religious place. Earlier, the girl’s uncle (Tau) had claimed that she is not a minor. The Delhi Police had registered a second FIR on a complaint filed by the girl's father.

 

On May 10, the minor recorded her statement before a magistrate providing an account of the alleged incident of sexual harassment. Thereafter, the WFI President was charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

 

It is pertinent to note that under criminal law, the “burden of proof” lies with the prosecution to prove the case against the accused “beyond reasonable doubt.” It was reported that the court would now have to assess the credibility of the complainant’s statements and that such an assessment would determine the future course of the case.

 

On May 31, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh responded to the protesting wrestlers’ allegations and said that he would "hang" himself if allegations against him are proven. "If a single allegation against me is proven, I will hang myself," the WFI chief said while addressing a public rally in UP’s Barabanki.

 

The development comes on a day the protesting wrestlers suspended their agitation till June 15 after the government assured them that a chargesheet will be filed against Brij Bhushan by then and elections to the federation will also be conducted by the month-end.

 

Several ace grapplers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have been protesting against the WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment and demanding his arrest. They also went on to question the fact that how the women wrestlers had to hide for the entire day. It is to be noted that, in an interview with a news channel, the family of the minor who has registered a case (POCSO) against Singh said Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia & Phogat etc misguided her, used her for their dirty politics.