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'If even one allegation was proved...': Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh reacts after acquittal in wrestlers' sexual harassment
Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh welcomed his acquittal in the sexual harassment case.
Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh welcomed his acquittal in the sexual harassment case filed by six women wrestlers, saying the verdict vindicated the stand he had maintained since the allegations first surfaced.
“The honourable judge said that Brij Bhushan Singh and Vinod Tomar are acquitted with honour. From the very first day, I had said that if even a single allegation against me was proved, I would be ready to face the harshest punishment,” he said.
“Today, the court has acquitted us with honour and it is a matter of happiness for me. What I had said on the first day has turned out to be true. I did not know what the other side was thinking, but my first reaction was that the truth would prevail. Today is a moment of happiness.”
‘Matter of joy for me and supporters’: Brij Bhushan
"On the first day, when my first statement came, I had said that if any verdict or any charge is proven, I will hang myself. Today, the court acquitted me with honour. It is a matter of joy for me and my supporters... Today is a happy day," Singh said.
A Delhi court on Monday acquitted Singh and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case, bringing to an end a trial that began nearly two years ago.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Ashwini Panwar of the Rouse Avenue Courts had reserved the judgment on July 2 after directing both the prosecution and the defence to submit their written arguments within two weeks.
Singh had been charged under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Tomar was charged with criminal intimidation. The offences carry a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment.
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What was the case?
The case stemmed from allegations made by six women wrestlers, who accused Singh of sexually harassing multiple female athletes over several years. Their accusations sparked months-long protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in 2023, with the wrestlers demanding Singh's arrest and removal as WFI chief.
Singh, then a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj, was removed from the top post in the federation following the allegations. Tomar, a close aide of Singh and the WFI's assistant secretary, was also suspended.
The protests were briefly called off after the Union Sports Ministry assured the wrestlers that a committee would investigate the allegations. However, they resumed in April 2023 after the athletes alleged that no meaningful action had been taken.
