E-Paper
Who is Brij Bhushan Singh, former WFI chief against whom wrestlers protested?
The 66-year-old BJP leader, who has a history of legal issues, has held the position of WFI chief since 2012.
Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, shortly after his aide Sanjay Singh won the federation's presidential elections on Thursday, said that it was the victory of wrestlers across the country.
Brij Bhushan, who is accused of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers, said as per news agency ANI, “This is not my personal victory, this is the victory of the wrestlers of the country. All wrestling activities were stopped for 11 months. I hope that after the formation of the new federation, wrestling events will resume which were paused for the past 11 months.”
He added, “A message has been given. Every akhaada in the country is bursting with firecrackers...I want to give the credit of victory to the wrestlers of the country and the electors.I want to thank the government as well. The elections were done on instructions of the Supreme Court and the Centre had submitted the PIL for this. Elections were held by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Centre went ahead to make sure elections happened and a non-partisan person was chosen as president. This 'grahan' of 11 months of wrestling is over. Within 10 days, the landscape of wrestling will change again and we will perform in the Olympics the way people want us to.”
Who is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh?
The 66-year-old BJP leader has held the position of WFI chief since 2012. Aside from facing allegations of sexual harassment and mental torture, prominent wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya have vocally criticised the 'dictatorial' leadership style of the six-time parliamentarian.
Having entered the Lok Sabha in 1991, he carried multiple charges, including an attempt to murder, punishment for dacoity, and causing the disappearance of evidence, among others. Notably, he has not been convicted in any of these cases.
In December 2021, a widely circulated video showed him publicly slapping an athlete in Ranchi, and he showed no remorse for his actions. In January of the same year, he suspended a Railways coach during the national championships in Noida, citing the coach's behaviour as "too animated."
In August last year, Brij Bhushan abruptly halted trials for selecting India's representative in the 59 kg category for the World Wrestling Championship, just 54 seconds after it commenced. His reasoning was the non-invitation of a group of seers from Ayodhya, the chief guests at the event, to offer blessings before the start.
Preceding the wrestlers' revolt by a month, Singh was acquitted by an MP-MLA court in UP's Gonda district in December in a 29-year-old case related to the attack on a former UP minister in the Samajwadi Party government in 1993, citing a lack of evidence.
What are the charges against Brij Bhushan?
Brij Bhushan is facing charges under sections 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A and 354D (stalking), while the police had framed charges against Tomar under sections 354, 354A, 109 (abetment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) IPC.
Delhi Police had filed a 1,599-page chargesheet on June 15 against Singh detailing the various allegations made by six female wrestlers.
