Daily briefing: Key allegations against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s interview; and more

🚨Big Story 

🔴 At least two instances of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; at least 15 incidents of sexual harassment— and a shared sense of fear and trauma. These form the key allegations in two FIRs filed with the Delhi Police on April 28 against Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh.

🔴 In an official complaint filed on April 21 with New Delhi’s Connaught Place police station, a woman wrestler said that on the day she won a gold medal at a major championship, Singh made her sit on his bed against her wishes and “forcefully” hugged her without her consent. She further alleged that the harassment went on for years, leaving her “deeply disturbed and scared”.

🔴 Meanwhile, at a panchayat held at Shoron village in UP’s Muzaffarnagar, khap leaders decided to send a delegation to meet President Droupadi Murmu, adding that the protesting wrestlers “will not concede defeat”.

⚡Only in the Express

In an interview with The Indian Express on the sidelines of the informal NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Oslo, the group’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke on a range of issues— from India’s contacts with NATO to China’s aggressive behaviour. 

📰From the Front Page 

👉🏽 “We will continue to strive to take our relationship to Himalayan heights. And in this spirit, we will resolve all the issues, be it boundary-related or any other issue,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Thursday.

👉🏽 The S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to a 31-month high of 58.7 in May, with factory orders rising at the fastest clip on higher demand for Indian products. Find out why this is significant here

👉🏽 Franco Mulakkal, who was acquitted by a court in Kerala last year in connection with the rape of a nun, has resigned as bishop of the Jalandhar diocese. According to the Vatican’s representative, the resignation was requested for the “good of the diocese”, which needs a new bishop, and not as a disciplinary measure.

👩🏽‍💻 Must Read 

👉🏽 Nearly a month since ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, leaving at least 75 people dead, closure eludes dozens of families as several bodies remain unclaimed in hospital mortuaries. Seeking to restore peace in the state, Home Minister Amit Shah has announced a series of measures, including a judicial probe panel, a peace committee, and an inter-agency unified command for better coordination.

👉🏽In today’s opinion section, former NCERT director Krishna Kumar writes it is perhaps too early to scrap a unique teacher education course like the DU’s B.El.Ed course, but its uncertain fate speaks of larger things.

👉🏽As the Congress mounts a campaign to win the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections due later this year, Richa Goswami, a katha vachak with several “records” in her chosen field under her belt, is one of its most potent weapons. However, in Goswami’s own words: “My job is not to ask people for votes. It is to bring the Raas Leela and Bhagavad Katha to every area in the state.”

⏱️ And Finally 

From Jaspreet Bumrah, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, to Deepak Chahar to Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav: the recurring injuries to fast bowlers is frustrating. While Mohammed Shami’s childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin has said the entire strength and conditioning method is not feasible for the pacers, former India opener Virender Sehwag has slammed Shanker Basu for making the same programs for all Indian players.

🤫 Delhi Confidential: The Shoron village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar is famous for its ‘sarv khap panchayat’ building whose old and dilapidated structure caught Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan’s attention. He ensured funding for its renovation. With renovation work going on, Thursday’s khap meeting to discuss the ongoing wrestlers’ protest.took place at a girls’ college in the village.

🎧 In today’s 3 Things episode, we look back at the old parliament building, and trace its origins all the way back to a small room inside a governor’s house in pre-independent India. We do this to understand how it came to being, what it can tell us about the functioning of our legislature, and the extent to which we have shed our colonial past with the new building now.

Until tomorrow, 

Anamni Gupta and Arushi Bhaskar