In a new twist, the father of the minor wrestler, on whose complaint a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by the Delhi Police, claimed that he and his daughter had made some “false allegations” against the Wrestling Federation of India chief.
The girl’s father, who recorded a fresh statement before the magistrate in New Delhi on June 5, told HT over the phone that the WFI chief had not sexually harassed his daughter, but his approach was “partial in nature against her”.
He added that levelled the allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan “out of anger” because her daughter had lost in the final of the last year’s trials for the Asian Championship.
The father, however, made it clear that they had not withdrawn the earlier complaint but recorded fresh statements.
“The entire staff on match duty was from Delhi and the opponent girl also hailed from Delhi, which is illegal… I have changed my statement. Some allegations were true and some were false. Brij Bhushan had not sexually harassed my daughter but his approach was biased against her… I had received threatening calls but I will not reveal their names. I had sold my house to bear the expenses of my daughter. Without anyone’s influence, I had re-recorded my statement,” the girl’s father said.
“We have no grudge against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We had recorded fresh statements on June 5 and we changed a few of our earlier statements. I am a father of a girl, and I don’t want to get involved in this fight. I had not withdrawn the complaint but recorded fresh statements. In anger, we had levelled some false allegations, and my daughter had faced some issues but all those mentioned in the FIR were not true,” he added.
He further said that their entire family is in depression and his main aim is to make her daughter a champion.
The girl’s father also told HT in the last couple of days that he, along with his daughter, was away from New Delhi and visiting a religious place. Earlier, the girl’s uncle (Tau) had claimed that she is not a minor. The Delhi Police had registered a second FIR on a complaint filed by the girl’s father.
On May 10, the girl had recorded her statement before a magistrate in New Delhi under Section 164 of the code of criminal procedure (CrPc) against Brij Bhushan. The girl’s father had alleged that the WFI chief had forcibly pulled her towards him and sexually harassed her after which, she was completely disturbed and gradually, she complained of health issues.
In the FIR, the girl’s father had alleged that Brij Bhushan pressed her shoulder very hard and intentionally slipped his hand under her shoulder. The WFI chief allegedly said “you support me, I will support you. Stay in touch with me”.
Wrestlers suspend protest till June 15
The development comes on a day the protesting wrestlers suspended their agitation till June 15 after the government assured them that a chargesheet will be filed against Brij Bhushan by then and elections to the federation will also be conducted by the month-end.
Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik met Union sports minister Anurag Thakur, who invited them for a meeting to break the deadlock, three days after Union home minister Amit Shah met them and discussed their demands.
The protesting wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan, who they have accused of sexually exploiting women wrestlers, including the minor.
After the meeting, which lasted over five hours, Malik and Punia told reporters that they have also been assured that the FIRs lodged against them will be withdrawn.
The protesting wrestlers and many of their supporters were booked for violation of law and order on May 28 when they marched towards the new Parliament building without permission.
However, both Malik and Punia asserted that their agitation is not over and they have suspended their protest only till June 15 as requested by the government.
