International referee Jagbir Singh has come up with another big revelation in Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's case and has corroborated wrestlers' allegations of sexual harassment against disgraced chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
In an exclusive conversation with India Today, an international wrestling referee since 2007 narrated incidents of sexual harassment on wrestlers by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In the FIR filed by six adults and one minor wrestlers who made serious allegations of continuous sexual harassment against Singh, one of the complainants said that in March 2022, when the team posed for a photo at the end of the trials in Lucknow for the Asian Championships, 'he placed his hands on my hips' following which she tried to move away.
Jagbir, who was right there at the time of incident and witnessed the wrong doings of Singh, in his testimony to Delhi Police corroborated the wrestler's allegations.
“I saw him (Brij Bhushan) standing next to her. She freed herself, pushed away, mumbled and moved away. She was standing next to the president, but then came to the front. I saw how this woman wrestler was reacting and she was uncomfortable. Uske saath kuchh galat hua (Something wrong happened to her). I didn’t see him doing the act but uske haath pair khoob chalte the, idhar aa ja. Idhar khadi ho ja (He used to keep touching wrestlers saying come here, come and stand here). From her (complainant’s) behaviour, it was clear something was wrong that day (during the photo session),” Jagbir said.
Jagbir is among the over 125 potential witnesses who are part of the police investigation. However, Anurag Thakur, the Union Sports Minister, said on Wednesday that the police investigation, which is involving around 125 possible witnesses from four states, is anticipated to be finished on June 15. The FIRs detail over 15 incidents reflecting sustained sexual harassment and coercion by MP Singh.
"Since I was one of the tallest wrestlers, I was supposed to stand in the last row. While I was standing in the last row and waiting for the other wrestlers to take their positions, the accused came and stood alongside me. To my shock and surprise, I suddenly felt a hand on my buttock. I immediately looked back and to my horror, the accused had placed his hands on my buttocks… I immediately tried to move away from that spot in order to protect myself from further inappropriate touching by the accused. However, when I tried moving away, I was forcibly held by my shoulder by the accused. Somehow, I managed to get free from the clutches of the accused. Since I could not have avoided getting the team photograph clicked, I decided to go and sit in the first row away from the accused,” the complainant stated in the FIR.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
Father of minor wrestler admits filing false sexual harassment allegations against WFI chief
