Wrestler Vinesh Phogat and other wrestlers have moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction for registration of an FIR against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. As senior advocate Narendra Hooda mentioned the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Monday, April 24, the Chief Justice asked Hooda to mention the matter again on Tuesday, April 25 as his petition was not on the list of mentioning matters.
According to the plea, Phogat and other wrestlers have cited an inordinate delay in registration of an FIR by Delhi Police against the WFI chief and urged the apex court to issue a direction to police to lodge a case against him. Counsel familiar with the development said the matter will be mentioned again for early hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 25. Amid the ongoing protests by wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Delhi Police have reportedly sought a report from the probe committee that was established by the Sports Ministry in response to the complaints.
"We have received seven complaints and are currently conducting an inquiry into all of them. We will register an FIR once concrete evidence is obtained. In the course of our inquiry, we have requested a report from the Sports Ministry's probe committee that was established to investigate the accusations of sexual harassment made against the WFI chief," said a senior police official.
On Sunday, April 23, Olympian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Phogat and other top Indian grapplers, restarted their protest against the WFI chief in Jantar Mantar in central Delhi. An Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Phogat broke down while speaking to reporters.
She had earlier said said she was subjected to mental harassment by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, adding that she had even contemplated suicide. On Sunday, April 23, one protesting wrestler told IANS that as many as seven women grapplers, including a minor, have tried to lodge a complaint at Parliament Street police station but "the police officers refused to file an FIR".