By Ritika Jain
A Delhi Court today granted interim bail to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief Brij Bhushan Singh and his aide Vinod Tomar in the case where women wrestlers have alleged sexual harrasment against them.
However, it is pertinent to point out that Delhi Police had not arrested Bhushan or Tomar till date. Special public prosecutor Atul Srivastava, representing Delhi Police opposed bail. Though, Srivastava said, if court was inclined to grant bail it must be on the condition that Singh, and Tomar do not influence the witnesses.
Special Judge Harpreet Singh Jaspal, who presides over the court that decides criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, granted interim relief till Thursday when the court will hear arguments for regular bail.
Singh and Tomar were present in court today in accordance with the summons issued against them in July 7.
A Delhi court on July 7 took cognisance of the chargesheet filed against Singh and his former assistant secretary Vinod Tomar for sexually harassing women wrestlers. Delhi Police submitted its chargesheet on June 15 where it charged the Kaiserganj (Uttar Pradesh) MP with outraging women's modesty, stalking, and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Tomar has additionally been charged with criminal intimidation.
The police completed its probe after Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur assured the protesting wrestlers of a time-bound probe.
The Delhi Police allegedly spoke to more than 180 people and recorded statements of 25.
The sexual harassment case against women wrestlers has not been without its twists and turns. It has also garnered attention from the international wrestling community who have come out in support of the survivors here. In June, the wrestlers, some of them Olympians, called off their protest saying they would "battle" it out in court.
Seven women wrestlers, including a minor, accused Singh of sexual harassment since 2012. Singh, who is a BJP leader, assumed the position of the WFI chief in 2011. Even as the police filed a chargesheet in the case filed by six wrestlers, it has sought to drop the POCSO charge in the minor's case citing a lack of corroborating evidence.
Also Read: FIR Against Wrestling Body Chief Alleges Decade-Long Pattern of Abuse
