WFI Row | Delhi: Court seeks report on status of FIR lodged against WFI chief Brij Bhushan

File Pic New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed FIRs lodged against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh on charges of sexual harassment. Sought status report from Delhi Police. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjit Singh Jaspal issued notice to the Delhi Police on a petition by the protesting wrestlers. The petition demanded that the investigation be monitored and the statements of the alleged victims be recorded before the court. It claimed that no action has been taken by the police since the FIRs were registered on April 28. The court asked the police to file the report by May 12, when it would hear the matter further. The petition claimed, “The police is not ready to do any investigation. The police have not even recorded the statements of the victims before the court.” Copies of both the FIRs against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were also produced in the court in sealed covers. While one FIR has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act for sexual harassment of a minor, the other has been registered for sexual harassment of other complainants. The women wrestlers had approached the Supreme Court following which two FIRs were registered in the matter on April 28. The counsel for the petitioners claimed that in view of the Supreme Court order, the statements of the victims should have been recorded in the court within 24 hours of the registration of the FIR. He said the statements were recorded three days after the registration of the FIRs. The lawyer claimed that it is alleged that an official in the Sports Ministry had called the husband of an aggrieved wrestler and asked him to settle the matter. The lawyer also alleged that a state wrestling association official had tried to settle the matter by contacting the coach and family of one of the victims. The lawyer claimed, “The man said that the girls had made a mistake. He said meet Netaji, he will get the matter resolved.” Some eminent wrestlers of the country are staging a sit-in at Jantar Mantar here from April 23, demanding the arrest of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. These include Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat.