The Delhi Police have withdrawn the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) case against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. A sexual harassment charge had been filed against him by a minor wrestler. The police have filed a final report before a Delhi court. They have requested the cancellation of the POCSO Act, as no corroborative evidence was found in the allegations levelled against Singh. The court has scheduled further consideration of the matter on July 1. The police found that the alleged victim was overage at the time of the incident and had three different birth certificates. Regarding the other charges, the police will file a chargesheet concerning six other wrestlers later today.
A statement by the protestors, who had suspended their agitation till June 15, is awaited. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had met Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik on June 7 and promised that the charge sheet in the case would be filed by June 15, following which they suspended their protest. The Delhi Police also wrote to wrestling federations of five nations, seeking details in connection with the alleged incidents of sexual harassment by Singh. The SIT (Special Investigation Team) has questioned more than 180 people, and also recorded statements of the outgoing WFI chief’s relatives, colleagues, house staff and his associates.
