Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Vinayak Padmadeo
New Delhi, june 6
Written affidavits filed by two women wrestlers in their sexual harassment complaint against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have some deviations from their allegations in the FIRs filed with the Delhi Police, say sources in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
It may be noted that only two of the seven complainants filed affidavits.
Onus on probe officer
It is the prerogative of the IO to investigate the allegations. In case of any contradiction, IO has various options, like he can seek clarification from the complainant, record a statement or investigate both or either version to unearth the truth. Parth Goswami, advocate
There are some variations in the affidavits and FIRs of at least two wrestlers. Wrestler 1, in the affidavit to the IOA, said that on October 15, 2017, she was called to the office of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) — it’s the official residence of Brij Bhushan in Delhi — to explain to a disciplinary committee why she missed an international tournament.
As per her affidavit, WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar asked her to go into Brij Bhushan’s office alone. After scolding her for a tweet against the federation, Brij Bhushan allegedly sat next to her. “…as he sat next to me his tone changed as he began to reassure me that no harm would come to me. While reassuring me, he kept touching me inappropriately on my palms, knees, thighs and shoulders…,” the complainant said in the affidavit submitted to IOA’s probe panel.
Incidentally, October 15, 2017, was a Sunday, and the WFI office is closed on Sunday.
In the FIR, the same complainant has cited October 16, 2017, as the date of the incident.
In another case, the same complainant in her affidavit relates an incident in Turkey during an Olympics qualifying tournament in 2015. She said in the affidavit that Brij Bhushan “moved his hand upwards to my chest and moved it down 3-4 times. Upon noticing my shock, he said he was checking my breathing…”
In the FIR, the wrestler does not mention Turkey but alleges that this incident happened in Mongolia in 2016.
In another mismatch, she claims that Tomar humiliated and mentally harassed her in front of several people at the WFI office in New Delhi, just before the 2022 Commonwealth Games trials. “I was put down publicly over my failure to secure a position on the podium at the Olympics,” she submitted. However, in the FIR, she alleges that the incident happened at Tomar’s residence in Paschim Vihar, Delhi.
In her affidavit, Wrestler 2 claims that Brij Bhushan touched her inappropriately during the Junior Asian Championships in Kazakhstan in 2012.
“Brij Bhushan Singh, the president of the WFI, connected my parents from his phone and made me speak to my parents. However, after the phone call ended, he without my consent and permission hugged me. I was uncomfortable with the physical advance and did not like it... I left the room and did not discuss this incident with anyone as I was a young wrestler whose career was only beginning,” she submitted.
In the FIR, she submitted that she told two persons about this — her mother and a senior wrestler, Anita.
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