Delhi police on Thursday filed a chargesheet before a trial court in a sexual harassment case against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh but recommended the cancellation of the Pocso case against the BJP parliamentarian.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act case, based on a now-withdrawn complaint from a minor wrestler and her father, entails a fast-tracked trial and a prison term of up to seven years on conviction.
The case in which the chargesheet has been filed entails a maximum jail term of three years on conviction.
If the Pocso charges are dropped, it will be “a big reprieve for Singh as he will now face a trial that is likely to take years to complete”, a trial court lawyer told The Telegraph.
Additional sessions judge Rajinder Singh of the Patiala House Courts put the cancellation report up for consideration on July 4. The chargesheet will be considered on June 22 by a different court.
The chargesheet relates to an FIR filed against Singh by six adult women wrestlers. It invokes the Indian Penal Code’s sections 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment) and 354D (stalking), Delhi police PRO Suman Nalwa said.
News agency ANI quoted wrestler Sakshi Malik as saying: “The chargesheet clearly states that he (Singh) is guilty but our lawyer has filed an application so that he gets his hands on the chargesheet at the earliest so that we can find out the charges. After that, we will see whether those charges are correct or not.
“Our next step would come once we see everything — whether the promises that were made are being fulfilled or not. We are waiting."
The minor’s statement was first recorded before a magistrate in the first week of May, in which she alleged sexual assault by Singh. Her father recently withdrew the complaint saying it was false and had been filed in anger at Singh for discriminating against his daughter.
However, a newspaper quoted the father as saying he had been threatened by people whose names he could not reveal and that his family was “living in intense fear”.
The Delhi police said: “After completion of investigation (in the Pocso case), we have submitted a police report before the court under Section 173 CrPC requesting for a cancellation of the case based upon statements of the complainant i.e. the father of the victim and the victim herself.”
A cancellation report is filed in cases where no corroborative evidence has been found.
Some of the country’s top wrestlers, who have been demanding Singh’s arrest, have alleged an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and said there was “huge pressure” on them to “compromise”.
Singh has been accused of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance. The FIRs cite at least 15 instances of sexual harassment including inappropriate touching, running hands over breasts and touching the navel, and alleged instances of intimidation including stalking.
