BJP MP Brij Bhushan should be prosecuted for sexual harassment, stalking: Delhi Police chargesheet; will PM break his silence atleast now?

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: In a significant revelation about the allegations against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a newspaper has accessed details of the 1,000-page chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police, holding Singh accountable on grounds of sexual harassment, molestation and stalking.

This comes after months of protest by India’s top wrestlers led by world championship winners Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, among others.

The Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over the sexual harassment charge against the BJP MP and said the government is facing a test from India's daughters.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked when will Prime Minister Modi expel Singh, who is also the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief, from the BJP and when will he be arrested.

A national daily reported that the chargesheet based on the “investigation so far”, dated June 13, finds the outgoing WFI president “liable to be prosecuted and punished for offences” of sexual harassment, molestation and stalking based on the complaints of six grapplers.

In one of the six cases, the complainant had to suffer “repeated and continuing” harassment from Singh, according to the chargesheet.

The complainants have accused Singh of demanding sexual favours for professional help on at least two occasions, 15 incidents of molestation and other forms of sexual harassment. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a tweet in Hindi, said that going by law and ethics, a person accused of atrocities against women should be removed from his post, fair investigation should be done, he should be arrested and punished in the court of law.

"But in the BJP government, why is the one accused of atrocities against women players who brought laurels to the country protected and why is the matter being hushed up during investigation? Why is the entire government silent on this matter? Why is the accused still in the BJP and why no action has been taken?" she asked.

"Will the government not break its silence even after the charge sheet of Delhi Police against Brij Bhushan Singh? Will PM Modi still not speak? If this government has any morality, then protection would have been given to the daughters and not to the accused," Shrinate said.

The Delhi Police has requested the court to summon Singh and the witnesses. Notably, Singh as well as the former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, who was also accused of sexual harassment, have already been issued summons to appear before the court on July 18.

Three wrestlers supported the allegations of an athlete who had accused Singh of groping her several times while she was out for dinner at a restaurant, according to a media report.

In another instance at Singh’s office, the wrestler had alleged, that the BJP MP put his hands on her palm, knee, thighs and shoulders and then touched her breasts on the pretext of checking her breathing.

The chargesheet stated, “Brij Bhushan had called the victim to his room through someone and talked to her parents on the phone and tried to hug her. He also asked the victim if he looked good in a pantshirt or in a dhoti kurta.”