You are undoubtedly the pride of the country and I am writing to reiterate the support that you have across India. I am sure you are aware of the same and also of the sombre responsibility it has cast on you. You have taken up a cause that is important not only nationally but internationally as well. Sexual harassment of young girls and women of all ages is a stark reality. The law has indeed made some very progressive amendments but they are largely on paper. This is proved by the fact that the Wrestling Federation of India did not even bother to constitute the mandatory Internal Complaints Committee, as envisaged in section 4 (1) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
As true as your cause is, I am afraid that politicians of all hues are trying to hijack it. This is to alert you that they pose a very real threat to the movement. You stand for girls and women of the country who have suffered quietly for too long. We are all keenly watching you; some are your silent supporters while others are vocal about it. But it is quite obvious that a few selfish elements are using your painful journey to get either political mileage or to settle scores. I am also aware that you have sensed their ulterior motives. It would thus be most meaningful to pursue the genuine cause at a distance from politics.
Your battle does not end with either registration of an FIR or the arrest of the culprit but with the logical conclusion of your complaints in court. We, the citizens of the country, are ashamed that the cases were registered only after the intervention of the highest court of the land. This has once again exposed the widespread political interference in policing.
In an ordinary course, even a police head constable would have registered the complaints or at the most, talked to his inspector before doing so. That you had to wait for more than three months, sit in protest and file a petition in the Supreme Court shows the malignant grip that ruling parties have over agencies of law enforcement, meant for citizens and not for VIPs. In any case who can be considered more valuable than your group, having brought us international laurels in wrestling?
Now that your complaints have been registered, I would like to flag that during the recording of statements by police, there are genuine issues of recall and recollection of the exact sequence of events: Discomfort in the presence of uniform, emotional trauma, memory loss over time are some of the prominent ones. So, while recording statements before magistrates under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, one may contradict oneself or divulge some additional facts. I have also come across girls innocently adding instances to their complaints of sexual harassment at later stages. Courts may consider these as untrustworthy, “material discrepancies” or contradictions. Remaining truthful to the episodes is the best course during police investigation and the ensuing trial.
In sensitive cases that I handled, closely collaborating with prosecutors who would give full attention to the case helped us. While investigating the Jalgaon sex scandal in Maharashtra, for instance, we pursued the appointment of special prosecutors. In many similar cases, district attorneys resorted to non-traditional methods of presenting our cases and strengthened them imaginatively. Therefore, I advise a continued follow-up even when your protest concludes successfully.
And last, you have to stand tall during the trials. A few of the victims in our cases became very emotional in court. Some contradicted themselves, others talked of instances that they had not reported, either to the police or to the magistrate. Defence lawyers engaged by the accused in such cases would term these additions as “improvements”. They would thus try to declare victims of sexual harassment as “unreliable”. The strategy of defence, especially in cases which are registered after a considerable time gap, such as yours, is to try to prove that the complaints are false and registered with ulterior motives.
The Jalgaon sex scandal cases were acquitted by the Bombay High Court and one of the reasons was delay in reporting, which many times courts find as “unreasonable and unexplained”. During the trial, you would thus have to give cogent reasons for what held you back from complaining immediately after you encountered unsolicited sexual advances or “bad touch”.
Dear champions, please note the difference between sharing the ordeal with your families from that of giving evidence in court. The latter is a cold logical process during which you are expected to provide concise and convincing details of the actual event to be classified as “sexual harassment”. Questions and counter-arguments by the defence lawyers have to be considered carefully before replying. I am sure with your experience in wrestling, you can foresee and anticipate loaded queries to your total advantage. In any case, one need not feel embarrassed and can even seek an in-camera trial.
Remember, you have to sustain yourselves till the trials end and judgments are pronounced. It may be a painful wait of three to five years. But then, you are not champions for nothing. You have struggled hard and practiced harder to reach the positions you hold today. You have truth and the country on your side. March ahead fearlessly and win another medal, more magnificent than any other, because this match is for the cause of all young girls and women of India. You are sure to win, we do not doubt it because nothing triumphs better than the truth.
And as the father of the nation said: “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall… think of it, always.”
The writer is former Commissioner of Police, Pune
We, the citizens of the country, are ashamed that the cases were registered only after the intervention of the highest court of the land. 
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