Brij Bhushan sexual harassment case: Delhi court records witness statement

A Delhi court on 3 March, Monday, recorded the statement of the kin of one of the women wrestlers who accused ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh of sexual harassment.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya recorded the statement of the witness, the wrestler's husband, during the in-chamber proceeding.

The examination of the witness remained inconclusive and the court posted the next hearing for 25 March.

On 21 May 2024, the court framed charges of sexual harassment and using force to outrage women's modesty against Singh in the case.

Singh has pleaded not guilty before and claimed trial.

The judge had also framed the charge of criminal intimidation against Singh in the case.

The court further framed criminal intimidation charge against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case.

Delhi Police filed a chargesheet in the case against Singh on 15 June under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment) , 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

During the in-chamber proceedings on an earlier occasion, a minor wrestler said she was satisfied with the Delhi Police's investigation in the case and was not opposed to the closure report it had submitted.

On 15 June 2023, Delhi Police filed a report before the court seeking cancellation of the case involving the girl after her father made a claim midway through the probe that he levelled false allegations of sexual harassment against Singh to get back at him for perceived injustice to his daughter.

Police recommended dropping the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case against Singh, but charged him with sexual harassment and stalking in a separate case lodged on the basis of a complaint by six women wrestlers.

Police recommended cancellation of the complaint involving the minor wrestler, saying "no corroborative evidence" was found.