Police Report Seeks POCSO Case Cancellation, Citing Lack of Evidence Against Brij Bhushan”
New Delhi, June. 15: The Delhi Police on Thursday told a local court that there is no evidence in a case registered under the Protection of Child Sexual Offenders (POCSO) Act against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The 552-page demurrer report by the police quoted the statements of the minor wrestler, her father, the complainant, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other witnesses in the court. A cancellation report is submitted in cases where no corroborating evidence is found. The court will next hear the case on July 4.
Minors were among the female athletes who accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who headed the wrestling federation for 12 years, of sexual harassment. Her father withdrew the charges as a complainant in the POCSO Act case and filed a fresh statement before the magistrate.
#WATCH | Chargesheet filed against former WFI chief under sections 354, 354D, 354A IPC. In the POCSO case, we’ve filed a cancellation report on the basis of the statement of the father of the alleged victim and the victim: Suman Nalwa, PRO, Delhi Police on Brij Bhushan Sharan… pic.twitter.com/zHn56oUPNw
— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2023
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal submitted a report after completing the investigation, requesting the case to be quashed based on the statements of the minor and her father. Four of the six female athletes have provided audio and visual evidence to corroborate their allegations, police said on Sunday.
On June 7, Union Minister Anurag Thakur met Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and promised to submit the charge sheet in the case by June 15. Later, the wrestlers suspended their protest till June 15 to take action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
In cases like sexual harassment, the burden of proof rests with the investigating agencies. The police did not file a First Information Report (FIR) for weeks until the Supreme Court directed it. Last Friday, a team of Delhi Police along with one of the complainants visited the WFI office for about 30 minutes and reached the house of the accused to recreate the sequence of events. Bajrang Punia alleged that the complainant was subjected to “mental shock” after Brij Bhushan visited Sharan Singh’s house.
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The protesting wrestlers camped at Jantar Mantar for 38 days, demanding the immediate arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh until the Delhi Police dismantled their tents on 28 May. He was stopped and arrested by the police while trying to march during the inauguration of the new Parliament building that day.
