Seven women wrestlers have filed separate police complaints against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.
It is learnt that in their complaints, filed Friday with the Connaught Place Police Station in New Delhi, the wrestlers have cited multiple instances of sexual harassment, dating back to 2012 and as recent as 2022. The reason they did not raise the issue before was their fear of facing consequences, the complainants said.
They also alleged that at least on four occasions, the harassment took place at Brij Bhushan’s MP bungalow at Ashoka Road, New Delhi, which also doubles up as the WFI office. Incidents of harassment also took place during an international tournament outside India as well as domestic competitions, the wrestlers alleged.
The police complaints came even as top wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik along with world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, returned to Jantar Mantar Sunday, three months after they first began a sit-in protest against Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual harassment, among other issues.
Sitting next to each other, Sakshi and Vinesh, who were in tears, also demanded that the report submitted to the sports ministry by the government-appointed probe committee be made public.
“It’s being said that we haven’t given any evidence to the committee to support our claims,” said Vinesh. “Has anyone asked Brij Bhushan if he has given any proof?”
Late Sunday, Vinesh – flanked by Sakshi and Bajrang – said in a video message that Delhi Police had not filed an FIR even after the complaints. “We are standing together in this battle for our sisters and daughters. If we fight together, we will definitely get justice,” said Bajrang, a bronze medallist at Tokyo Olympics.
Brij Bhushan did not respond to calls or messages from The Indian Express.
A sports ministry official said the Oversight Committee’s report is still being examined. Responding to the wrestlers’ claim that Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had not responded to their calls, seeking an update, the official said: “The sports ministry stance is neutral until the investigation is complete. Hence, during this period the Sports Minister or other ministry officials have avoided meeting either of the parties.”
The wrestlers have also approached the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), seeking police action.
In a notice to Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCW president Swati Maliwal demanded an FIR against Brij Bhushan. “Several women, including a minor, have alleged that the accused person has indulged in the crime of sexual harassment against them during his tenure at the helm of Wrestling Federation of India,” Maliwal wrote in her letter.
Maliwal added a complainant informed the DCW that they are receiving calls from the sports ministry. “Further, she (complainant) has informed the Commission that instead of filing an FIR in the matter, some of the complainants and their family members have started getting phone calls enquiring about the identities of the complainants from an IPS officer posted in the Department of Sports, MYAS,” she wrote.
On the police complaints against Brij Bhushan, a senior wrestler, who did not wish to be named, said, “They have taken this step as there has been no action since we lodged our protest with the sports ministry. We are now waiting for the police to take further action.”
Confirming the complaints, a senior police officer said they are conducting an enquiry before lodging FIR. “Appropriate legal action would be taken,” the officer said.
Bajrang, Vinesh and several leading wrestlers have expressed unhappiness that the findings of the government-appointed Oversight Committee have not been made public yet.
The committee, headed by boxing legend M C Mary Kom, was set up on January 23 to probe the allegations against Brij Bhushan. Given a one-month deadline, it submitted its report in the first week of April but its findings are yet to be made public.
Apart from Mary Kom, other members of the committee are Olympic medallist-wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player and Mission Olympic Cell member Trupti Murgunde, former CEO of Target Olympic Podium Scheme Rajesh Rajagopalan and former Sports Authority of India executive director (teams) Radhica Sreeman.
Earlier this month, Vinesh had said that the wrestlers were considering legal action against the WFI chief. “We have lost faith in the committee,” Vinesh had told The Indian Express. “We received some assurances from the government but they were not fulfilled too. We do not know the status of the report filed by the committee as well.”
Wrestlers during a protest at Jantar Mantar. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha) 
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