DCW chief demands Brij Bhushan's arrest, action against police personnel who detained wrestlers

Swati Maliwal

Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal wrote to the Commissioner of Police, demanding the arrest of BJP MP and chief of Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and action against personnel who detained the protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

She also demanded the immediate release of the female wrestlers and their families by the Delhi Police.

Protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, were detained on Sunday after a scuffle with security personnel who tried to stop them from marching to the new Parliament building as it was being inaugurated.

Soon after, the Delhi Police cleared the site of their over-month-long sit-in at Jantar Mantar and said they will not be allowed to return there.

In the letter addressed to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, Maliwal said she was deeply pained to note that Delhi Police has manhandled female wrestlers and their families protesting peacefully at Jantar Mantar and forcefully detained them today.

She further mentioned that over a month back, several women wrestlers, including a minor, had made serious allegations of sexual harassment against the Member of Parliament Mr Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh during his tenure as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.

She said upon intervention of the Supreme Court, two FIRs were registered in the matter against the accused person who already has around 40 other ongoing criminal cases against him! "However, despite a minor girl alleging sexual harassment by the accused parliamentarian, Delhi Police has failed to arrest him till date. This has forced the female wrestlers to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar which has been ongoing since the past one month," she wrote.

The DCW chief also questioned the Delhi Police for not arresting Brij Bhushan Singh yet.

"In Delhi, every day around 6 cases of sexual assault are reported and in each case, Delhi Police attempts to arrest the accused person. Then why has Brij Bhushan Singh not been arrested till date? If this is not blatant injustice, what is?” Maliwal asked.

"This apparent partisan attitude of Delhi Police which is being seen as siding with the accused parliamentarian has made a mockery of justice and forced the women wrestlers to sit and slcep on the streets of Delhi," she added.

"The women wrestlers today along with their families were manhandled and forcefully detained and taken away by Delhi Police. Several videos depicting the same have been going viral on social media. The manner in which these women champions are being dragged on the streets by Delhi Police is extremely unbecoming of the force," the letter read.

"By denying them justice and forcefully detaining them for raising their voice against sexual harassment, Delhi Police is demoralising the women and girls of this country against reporting cases of sexual harassment and fighting for justice," it added.