NEW DELHI (AP) — New Delhi police filed charges Thursday of sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of six female athletes by Indian wrestling federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at the end of their investigation.
If convicted, Singh faces a maximum of five years in prison. He denies the allegations.
In a separate report, police sought the cancellation of a complaint of sexual harassment filed by a minor wrestler against Singh for lack of evidence, police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said.
Under Indian laws, an accused is formally charged or discharged by a court after going through a report filed at the end of the police investigation in the case. The court will decide whether to put Singh under arrest if it decides to put him on trial.
Two separate courts are expected to start hearing the cases within weeks.
The minor wrestler's case was filed under a special act that protects children from offenses of sexual assault and harassment, Nalwa said.
The wrestlers began protesting in a central park in the Indian capital in January demanding Singh’s arrest. They postponed their protest last week after Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur assured them that the police will complete the investigation and present its report to the court by June 15.
The New Delhi police started investigating the wrestlers’ complaints against Singh under orders from India’s Supreme Court.
India’s federal government has also promised to hold elections for the top positions in the wrestling federation by the end of this month. Singh continues to head the federation.
Two Olympic medalists, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, were part of the protests and have threatened to hand back their medals if no action is taken against Singh.
The protests found support from members of opposition parties, and many farmer unions took up the wrestlers’ cause. Most of the Indian wrestlers come from the northern agricultural states of Haryana and Punjab.
They accused Singh, a 66-year-old powerful lawmaker representing the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, of sexually harassing seven young female wrestlers.
Singh has denied the accusations and called the protests “politically motivated” by the opposition Congress party.
Vinesh Phogat, who has won wrestling medals at the world championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, claimed in January that several coaches have exploited female wrestlers at the behest of the WFI president.
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