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The complaint was initially filed by the father of a minor wrestler but was later withdrawn after he made a startling claim midway through the probe that he had made a false complaint of sexual harassment against Singh to get back at him for perceived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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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
