Why Delhi Police has recommended cancellation of POCSO case against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh?

Chargesheet was filed against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Thursday by Delhi Police, but at the same time, they also recommended the cancellation of the POCSO case against the federation chief.

Brij Bhushan, who had two FIRs registered against him in May, was booked under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after he was accused of sexual harassment by a minor wrestler apart from six other athletes. The FIR under the POCSO Act provided for five to seven years of imprisonment.

The minor in her complaint had stated that the WFI chief held her tightly “pretending to take a picture” and also “brushed his hands against her breasts.”

If the Police’s recommendation before the Patiala House Court is accepted, then Brij Bhushan will not be tried under the POCSO Case.

We explain why the Delhi Police has decided to drop the POCSO Case against Brij Bhushan.

Why Delhi Police want POCSO case dropped

While making the request in front of the court, the Delhi Police said that “No corroborative evidence has been found” against the WFI chief to “indicate the commission of an offence under the section of POCSO.”

A cancellation report is filed when no “corroborative evidence” is found.

This comes after the minor wrestler and her father recorded a new statement earlier in June withdrawing their allegations. They recorded a new statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“In the POCSO matter, after the completion of the investigation, we have submitted a police report under section 173, CrPC, requesting for a cancellation of the case based upon the statements of the complainant i.e the father of the victim and the victim herself,” a Delhi Police statement said.

The Police statement also put an end to the reports that quoted the minor father contradicting the reports of him and her daughter withdrawing the complaints.

Also in an interview with the news agency PTI, Delhi Police DCP Suman Nalwa confirmed the same.

“We have filed for cancellation of the (POCSO) case based on the statement of the alleged victim and her father,” said Delhi Police DCP Suman Nalwa.

VIDEO | “Two FIRs had been registered against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In the case where wrestlers had alleged sexual harassment and molestation, we filed a chargesheet today in the concerned court. In the other case, we have filed for cancellation of the (POCSO) case based on… pic.twitter.com/uFgRaMBB3G

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 15, 2023

The Patiala House Court has fixed 4 July as the next date of hearing.

On 7 June, the minor wrestler’s father in an interview with Hindustan Times said that they had levelled “false allegations” and hence changed their statements.

“We have no grudge against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We recorded fresh statements on June 5 and we changed a few of our earlier statements. I am the father of a girl and I don’t want to get involved in this fight. I had not withdrawn the complaint but recorded fresh statements. In anger, we had levelled some false allegations. My daughter had faced some issues, but all those mentioned in the FIR were not true,” he said.

What does the chargesheet include?

The chargesheet in one of the FIRs has been filed against two accused — Brij Bhushan and former WFI secretary Vinod Tomar.

The chargesheet against Singh has been filed under Sections 354 (uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will there by outrage her modesty), 354D (punishment for stalking) and 345A (making sexually coloured remarks) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

It has been lodged on the basis of complaints made by six other wrestlers.

The chargesheet against Vinod Tomar includes sections 109 (abetment of any offence, if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 354, 354A and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

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