Delhi court closes POCSO case against Brij Bhushan

young new new delhi: A Delhi margaret court on mon closed a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) against former Lok Sabha MP and ex-chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, after the minor victim, now an adult, retracted her allegations of sexual harassment made against him along with many women wrestlers.

The Delhi police had submitted a closure report in June 2023 after its investigation found “no corroborative evidence”. On Monday, Additional Sessions Judge Gomati Manocha of the Patiala House Courts accepted the report.

The police report filed under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) sought to close the case lodged at the Connaught Place police station against the former BJP MP under section 10 of the POCSO Act and section 354A (sexual harassment), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) and 354D (stalking). The complaint was filed by a woman wrestler’s father who accused Singh of committing the offence on his daughter when she was a minor.

However, a month after the FIR was lodged, the woman retracted her accusations against Bhushan before a magistrate as part of her statement under section 164 CrPC statement. This marked a crucial turn in the case.

The 552-page report stated that the father had made a false complaint against Singh to purportedly settle a personal score after his daughter lost in a wrestling championship.

Before arriving at a conclusion, ASJ Manocha held 20 in-camera proceedings where the complainant was summoned with her father every time to ascertain whether her decision to retract the charge was made under duress. On July 4, 2023, the court had issued notice to the woman and her father, who appeared before the court and didn’t raise any objection to the closure report, expressing satisfaction with the police investigation.

The woman wrestler was present at the court on Monday when it accepted the closure report. The prosecution was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava.

To be sure, Singh is facing a parallel case along with former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar where they have been accused by five women wrestlers of sexual harassment and stalking. Charges have been framed and the trial is on before a special judge, who is currently examining prosecution witnesses.

Singh has challenged the proceedings before the Delhi high court, seeking quashing of the proceedings. In his plea, he has alleged that the case against him is “false” and “frivolous” and the probe is being conducted in a biased manner. The high court is expected to take up the matter next on August 11.

The controversy erupted after several female wrestlers sat in protest against Singh in January 2023, accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation. On June 15, 2023, Delhi Police filed a 1,082-page chargesheet against Singh and Tomar on a complaint by the wrestlers.

Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia, one of the complainants, told HT: “The POSCO case didn’t take off, so its closure doesn’t mean anything. Our main case of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan is still going on in court and he has not been let off from that.”

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