Over the past several days, wrestlers have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan, accusing him of sexual harassment. The wrestlers have also charged Singh under section 10 of the POCSO Act claiming that he has committed sexual offence against a minor girl.
However, a video of the girl’s relative has come to the fore, which claims to expose the strategy of the wrestlers to trap Singh in false legal cases. In a video that has been shared by UP Tak, the uncle of the girl revealed that the protesting wrestlers have been making a strategy to trap the Wrestling Federation of India chief in the false legal case.
“Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Mallik and Bajrang Punia have together built this strategy and we had no slight idea about it. If I would have known this earlier, I would not have spared them. If you have problems, speak only about them. Don’t involve us. These people took around three months to built the strategy. Don’t misuse the law. Why are you playing with someone’s life? We have families. Leave us out out of this,” the relative of the girl said. The wrestlers in the complaint against Singh have mentioned that the girl was minor when she was sexually abused and have charged Singh under POCSO Act.
बीजेपी सांसद बृजभूषण शरण सिंह पर जिस नाबालिग लड़की को लेकर पहलवानों ने पॉस्को का आरोप लगाया था, अब उस लड़की के परिवार ने पहलवानों पर गंभीर आरोप लगाए हैं। लड़की के चाचा ने कहा कि विनेश फोगाट, साक्षी मलिक और बजरंग पुनिया ने मिलकर इतनी गहरी साजिश रची है जिसकी हमें खबर नहीं हुई।… pic.twitter.com/zD7BTh802F
— UP Tak (@UPTakOfficial) May 31, 2023
The girl’s uncle added that the wrestlers have influenced the girl, who is 20 now. “The case says the incident happened when she was 16. We would have known then. They want to target Singh anyhow they can. They are trying to do politics by filing false case against Singh,” he added.
The relative also added saying that the case wrongly shows that the girl is dead. “Why are these people playing with lives of people. The girl is alive. How could they say that the girl is dead when she’s alive? How could they show her age as 16 when she’s 20? How could they speak this massive lie?” the uncle pondered.
To note, after numerous unsuccessful attempts by wrestlers to file a complaint against Brij Bhushan Singh, the Delhi Police filed two complaints against Singh. The first complaint was filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and involved allegations of sexual harassment made by a minor wrestler. The second complaint concerned outraging modesty.
The sections included in the FIRs are section 354 (Assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) of the IPC and section 10 (Punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. There is a persistent call for Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s arrest due to the fact that three of the violations are “serious” ones that cannot be expunged with bail.
Earlier, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had denied the allegations and had said that the law is being misused against him.
Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, as well as Vinesh Phogat and other prominent wrestlers, are protesting against Brij Bhushan Singh, a BJP MP from Kaiserganj, for allegedly engaging in long-term sexual harassment of female wrestlers. These wrestlershave been protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since April 23, demanding the arrest of the WFI president.
The wrestlers recently also launched a protest at the Jantar Mantar and were detained by the Delhi Police while they violated the law. The protesters walked towards the new parliament building on Sunday and demanded strict action agains the BJP leader. “Yesterday, protesters violated the law despite all requests made to them. That is why, the ongoing sit-in protest has been made to conclude. If the wrestlers give an application for sit-in protest again in future, they will be permitted for the same at a suitable place other than Jantar Mantar,” said Delhi Police.
FIR has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147, 149, 186, 188, 332, 353, Section 3 of the PDPP Act, Delhi Police added.
It is to be noted that several derogatory slogans have been raised in the midst of the wrestlers protests which has been ongoing for months now. It was reported that slogans like ‘Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi’ and also anti-India ‘Azadi’ slogans were raised during the protests.
It is notable that similar slogans were raised by protestors in many protests in the past. Anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests, and various other protests in JNU are known for these Azadi slogans. Now, these sloganeers have also joined the wrestlers’ protests.
