India's ex-wrestling chief cleared of sexually harassing girl
The former head of India's wrestling federation has been cleared in a sexual harassment case filed by a minor female wrestler.
A court in the capital, Delhi, accepted a Delhi police report, recommending the cancellation of the case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
A former MP from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Singh still faces charges of sexual harassment and stalking in a separate case by six adult female wrestlers.
Singh has always denied these charges.
The cases against Singh made headlines in 2023 when he was charged with sexual harassment after months of protests by India's top wrestlers.
The protests made headlines globally, especially after the police detained them as they tried to march to India's new parliament building in Delhi.
Footage of the Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and two-time world champion medallist Vinesh Phogat being dragged in the streets and carried off in police vans went viral, sparking criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also condemned the way the wrestlers were being treated and called for an impartial inquiry into their complaints.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was criticised for not acting strongly or swiftly enough against Singh since he was a member of his party. The government had rejected the allegations.
The wrestlers agreed to pause their protests after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and then Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
Thakur assured them that charges would be filed against Singh by 15 June 2023.
Seven female wrestlers, including the minor, registered complaints with the police accusing Singh of molesting and groping them at training camps and tournaments.
In the case of the minor, police had invoked the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Singh, denied all the allegations, accusing the wrestlers of being "politically motivated".
Weeks later, the minor retracted her earlier statements and withdrew her allegations, reports said. Wrestler Sakshi Malik told the BBC at the time that she believed "the player was pressurised into withdrawing the charges". Mr Singh refused to comment on the allegation, saying "let law take its course".
On Monday, legal news site Bar and Bench reported that the police had given a report in court seeking cancellation of the case as the minor wrestler's father said he had made a false complaint.
The prosecution lawyer said "no corroborative evidence" had been found in the allegations after a detailed investigation in the case.
Bar and Bench said the wrestler and her father had appeared before the court and expressed satisfaction with the police investigation. They also did not oppose the cancellation report.
In the aftermath of the row, Singh had stepped down as the wrestling federation chief. He was replaced by his close aide Sanjay Singh, who was later elected as the organisation's chief, leading to the accusation that Brij Bhushan Singh was still running it by proxy. The two Singhs denied the accusation but the federal sports ministry suspended the federation in December 2023.
In 2024, the federation resumed its functions after United World Wrestling, the international, organisation governing wrestling, lifted its ban on the Indian federation. Earlier this year, The Hindu and Indian Express newspapers reported that the Wrestling Federation of India was functioning out of Singh's address in Delhi.
Singh was also denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the 2024 general election. The party instead fielded his son Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj - the seat in the northern Uttar Pradesh state which the senior Singh had held since 1999. The junior Singh won the election.
BBC
