Brij Bhushan calls for review of sexual harassment laws after closure of POCSO case against him
Ayodhya, May 27 (PTI): A day after a Delhi court closed a sexual harassment case under the POCSO Act against him, former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Tuesday demanded that the Centre find a way to "stop the misuse" of sexual harassment laws.
He stressed that this was not about abolishing the law, but about reviewing its implementation.
Singh said this as he held a massive show of strength in Ayodhya on Tuesday, drawing thousands of supporters and over a thousand SUVs to the city.
The ex-WFI chief, who arrived at the Ayodhya airport to a grand welcome, led a cavalcade that moved through the temple town, causing long traffic jams on the third 'Bada Mangal' of the month -- a day of major religious significance in the region.
Addressing the media in Ayodhya, Singh said, "I have great faith in Lord Hanuman and in myself. When the allegations were made on January 18, 2023, I said it was a lie, and everything I said has been proven true."
"Sections on preventing harassment are being misused today. I have great faith in the judiciary," he said.
Referring to his previous public statement that he would hang himself if found guilty, Singh said, "I had said that if the charges are proven, I will hang myself. What I said has been proven. I am grateful to the judiciary."
Singh also alleged that laws intended to protect women, Dalits, and victims of dowry harassment were being misused. "I'm not against such laws. They are important but there is a growing trend of using them to ruin lives and settle personal scores," he said.
"From the sacred land of Ayodhya, I demand that the government find a way to stop the misuse of sexual harassment laws. This is not about abolishing the law, but about reviewing its implementation."
Singh also commented on the wrestlers who accused him, saying, "Those athletes used to call me the god of wrestling. They would visit my home, and I attended their weddings and family functions."
His remarks come in the wake of a Delhi court's order on Monday accepting a closure report filed by the police in a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The complaint was initially filed by the father of a minor wrestler but was later withdrawn after he made a startling claim midway through the probe that he had made a false complaint of sexual harassment against Singh to get back at him for perceived injustice to the girl.
While Singh has been cleared in the POCSO case, he continues to face trial in another court on charges of sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation filed by six other women wrestlers. He has pleaded not guilty.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
