Wrestler 'not minor': Father reveals adding new twist in case against federation chief
New Delhi/IBNS: In a new twist to the wrestlers' protest, the "minor" who made allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was not underage at the time of the event and has changed her statement in court, media reports said.
In an interview with NDTV, her father claimed she had changed the age-related part in her statement. Her complaint of sexual harassment remains the same.
Her complaint had led to the filing of a case against Singh under POCSO- the stringent law against sexual assault on children.
With the change in age status, the POCSO charges against the Wrestling Federation chief can be dropped.
On April 29, two separate police cases were filed against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, after allegations of sexual harassment by seven wrestlers, one of them a minor.
The cases were filed after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Delhi Police. One of them is under POCSO, the stringent law against sexual assault of children.
Top wrestlers including Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia have been protesting against Singh for allegedly sexually harassing seven women grapplers.
They have now decided to pause their protest after meeting Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur for five hours on Wednesday.
According to reports, Thakur presented a proposal that the investigation against Singh will be completed by June 15.
The Delhi Police has quizzed Singh twice in connection with the case.
The police, who have formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter, have questioned around 200 people in the case as well, said reports.
The police will file a status report in the court, listing the details of all the inquiries they have held so far.
As per reports, the police have looked into every allegation and questioned the people allegedly present at the time.
Singh earlier claimed that he will come out clean from the charges of sexual harassment levelled against him by the wrestlers.