The wrestling champions of India are showing no signs of taking back their protests against BJP MP and chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers. As the days of protests have culminated to months, the wrestlers are escalating their fight for justice when Singh has got a backing from Hindu seers and the supporters of Hindutva. 

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a six-time BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh and he has a grim track record as a parliamentarian. Though the case wasn't filed against Singh earlier, the Delhi police filed two FIRs later on April 28 after the intervention from the Supreme Court. Though the agitation of the wrestlers had drawn global attention with heated reactions from the wrestling forums, the ruling BJP regime remains tight lipped even as Singh continues to hold the posts. 

The wrestlers including Sakshi Mallik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia are now going through a hunger strike in Delhi demanding that the BJP MP must be arrested based on the FIRs under the grounds of sexual harassment charges, the FIRs have revealed how Singh abused his power to sexually harass and intimidate the wrestlers, who made the nation proud by triumphing medals in the international tours including Olympics. 

According to The News Minute, seven women wrestlers including a minor have accused Singh of sexually harassing them. The victims have said that they have faced twelve instances of sexual assault and the BJP MP, being a WFI chief, asked for sexual favours in three occasions. Two FIRs were filed against Singh in total and one of the FIRs was filed based on a complaint from the father of a minor wrestler. 

In the FIR, the wrestler's father has said that his daughter was sexually harassed by Singh when she was 16. He said that his daughter was sexually abused by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after she won a gold medal at a national championship. The wrestler's father has alleged that the BJP MP has forcefully pulled her daughter towards him and molested her. 

The minor's father further said that when his daughter refused to cooperate with Brij Bhushan Singh, the latter threatened to curb her chances for the Asian Championship and stated that Singh had called his daughter to his room to initiate forceful physical contact. By citing that the WFI is totally under the control of the accused, the minor's father said that he can't remain silent anymore as what his daughter faced continues to be a nightmare to her. 

Notably, the minor's father has highlighted that if the BJP MP is not stopped, he will continue to sexually harass more female athletes. As the complaint accuses Brij Bhushan Singh (66) of harassing a minor wrestler, an FIR has been filed under section 10 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), sections 354 - assault or criminal force to woman, 354A - sexual harassment, 354D - stalking, 34- common intention of the Indian Penal Code. 

Another FIR was filed against the BJP MP based on the complaints from six women and one of the complainant said that the accused was referred to as 'Netaji' by the officials and staff of the federation. The complaint also underlines how the accused was highly influential in the Federation and had a pattern to his sexual harassment. Another woman complainant said that she was sexually harassed by Brij Bhushan Singh in August 2022 when he called her separately during the training and he later put his hand inside her t-shirt under the guise of checking her breath. 

The complainants alleged that Brij Bhushan Singh would don a lungi and walk before the rooms where the players were staying. He would offer them barred food items only to make a contact. He also tried to feed one of the women an unknown food item by citing that it would increase her performance. One of the wrestlers had alleged in the complaint that the BJP MP had misused his power and used his position as the WFI chief to target her. 

In a major revelation, one of the wrestlers had divulged that she met Prime Minister Modi in 2021 and informed him about the sexual harassment by the WFI chief. The wrestler, in her complaint, said that Modi gave her an assurance that the problems will be looked into by the Sports Ministry. However, even though she approached the Prime Minister, there was no concrete action against Brij Bhushan Singh who continued to give mental harassment.