Delhi police forms SIT to probe Singh, wrestlers welcome move
The Delhi Police on Friday informed the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The SIT, it has been learned, consists of ten personnel and is being headed by a woman DCP.
The information was part of the status report that the police, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava, submitted before the court in a sealed cover owing to the sensitive nature of the case. "Sharing the report may cause hindrance in the ongoing probe," the police said.
Wrestlers' lawyer SS Hooda opposed the submission and sought a copy of the status report. Hooda contended that the investigating agency was trying to hamper the rights of the victims and by not sharing a copy of the report, the police were keeping the investigation opaque. His request was denied by the court. The wrestlers also petitioned a court-monitored probe, but the demand was shot down.
The application for recording of statements of victims under Section 164 of the CrPC, the police said, has also been filed. The testimony of the minor complainant was recorded under Section 164 earlier this week and the statement of at least one more complainant under the said section was recorded on Friday.
The recording of statements under Section 161 — testimony before police, not admissible in court — was completed last Friday.
The police teams had also travelled to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Haryana to collect evidence on the wrestler's complaint.
Statement of WFI Assistant Secretary WFI Vinod Tomar, who was suspended by the sports ministry in January and has been named an accused in Delhi Police FIR, has been recorded as well.
A senior police officer who didn't wish to be identified confirmed that Singh was questioned twice, first on May 4 and then on May 7. “He denied the allegations and said he has evidence of his innocence,” said the officer.
Singh has also been asked to prepare and produce any evidence or documents, including mobile data and video evidence, in his defence. He will be summoned for further interrogation in the near future, the officer said.
Tomar, too, has been asked to produce documents in his defence. The court has listed the matter for further arguments on May 27.
The protesting wrestlers welcomed the development. "We are happy with the formation of SIT. We are not too unhappy with the police either, we understand they have a job to do. We have full faith in the judiciary," Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia said.
"Both our earlier demands, of asking the Delhi Police to file an FIR and giving security to the complainants, were fulfilled by the Supreme Court. We understand that courts can't order someone's arrest; that's the job of the police. We are fighting for justice and we are certain that the courts will give us justice," he added.
With the wrestlers' sit-in having completed 20 days on Friday, Punia thanked his supporters for being the force behind the protest. "Twenty will become 30 or 50, but we will still be here. Singh has tried everything to discredit our protest but the love and support of the common citizens has kept us going. we have got tremendous support on social media too," he said.
The wrestlers' 15-day ultimatum to the government ends on May 21, following which, "big calls" will be taken. "We never believed this will be an easy battle," Bajrang added. "We are fighting to get justice for our daughters and we are in no mood to back down. The protest will end only after Singh is arrested."
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