As wrestlers continue to protest demanding legal action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against the BJP MP detail how he allegedly threatened the wrestlers of “dire consequences” if they spoke out against the harassment before a Committee constituted to look into the allegations. Brij Bhushan, who is also the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has been accused of sexual harassment by at least seven wrestlers, including a minor.
In one of the FIRs, a wrestler said that her husband was contacted by Brij Bhushan’s “goons” while they were protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. She alleged, “Threats were given to my husband that if I stated anything against the accused before the Committee, we would have to face dire consequences.”
In a similar incident, another wrestler who has been protesting against Brij Bhushan alleged in her complaint that the accused had threatened her and her husband. She stated, “The accused person in connivance with other accused persons [Vinod Tomar, the secretary of WFI] also tried to intimidate me and my husband on various occasions by giving out threats of using force and causing harm to our life.”
The alleged threats did not begin only once the sexual harassment allegations were made, in order to dissuade the wrestlers from protesting and speaking up against Brij Bhushan. Much before the allegations gained public attention, the WFI chief had allegedly insinuated to some of the wrestlers that they would not be able to participate in wrestling competitions if they did not give in to his advances. Another wrestler who had filed a complaint against Brij Bhushan alleged that he pulled her towards him forcefully by her shoulders in an attempt to click a picture with her in 2021. According to her statement in the FIR, the wrestler resisted his attempts and tried to move away only for Brij Bhushan to say, “Zyada smart bann rhi hai kya? Aage koi competition nahi khelne kya tune?” (“You have become very smart, haven’t you? Don’t you want to participate in competitions in the future?”)
The wrestler said that she faced the consequences for turning down Brij Bhushan’s advances. She was allegedly not allowed to participate in an international wrestling competition in 2022, one year after she rejected the advances. She added that her name did not feature in the final list of contestants and this was made known to her only after the documents she had submitted for verification were approved. When the wrestler contacted Brij Bhushan to ask about her name being dropped, he allegedly said, “Maine terko bola tha, mein tereko competition nahi khelne duga” (“I had told you right, I will not allow you to participate in competitions”).
The FIRs state that a minor athlete who had also accused Brij Bhushan of sexual harassment faced a similar situation. When she was 16, Brij Bhushan allegedly groped her on the pretext of clicking a picture with her. He had allegedly told her that if she “supports him”, he will also “support her”. The FIR states that the wrestler expressed discomfort at his comment and his attempts to click a picture with her, and distanced herself from him.
The complaint filed by the minor wrestler’s father read, “Upon this, the accused told my daughter that the trials for the upcoming Asian Championship were soon to be held and since she was not cooperating with him, she has to bear the repercussions in the upcoming trials.” The wrestler was allegedly subjected to discriminatory practices during the trial. According to the FIR, the wrestler had won a gold medal at a national championship, but was deprived of sponsorships because she rejected Brij Bhushan’s advances.
Several top wrestlers, including Olympians, have been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since April 23 demanding action against Brij Bhushan. They were detained by the Delhi police on May 28, after they took out a march to the new Parliament building on the day of it. Following this, the wrestlers announced that they would immerse their medals in River Ganga in protest. The wrestlers are now on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding government action.