Wrestlers' Protest: WFI President Claims Posco Act Being Misused

NEW DELHI: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the head of the Wrestling Federation of India and a BJP MP who is being investigated under the POCSO Act, stated on Thursday that the law is being "misused" and that "we will force the government to change" it.

At a gathering here to discuss plans for a seer rally he had planned for June 5 in Ayodhya, Singh said this while addressing reporters. According to him, the gathering will draw 11 lakh seers.

Top wrestlers from the nation, including Vinesh Phogat and Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, have been conducting a sit-in at Delhi's Jantar Mantar since April 23 to call for Singh's arrest for allegedly harassing seven female wrestlers, including a minor.

Two FIRs have been filed by the Delhi Police against the WFI president. The second FIR was filed in response to outraging modesty, whereas the first FIR was filed in response to charges made by the young wrestler and was covered by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. According to Singh, the POCSO Act is being "misused on a large scale."

"This law is being misused against children, the elderly, and seers. Even officials are not immune to its misuse," the Kaiserganj MP claimed. "Under the leadership of seers, we will force the government to change the (POCSO) law," he said.

The Congress government introduced the measure without fully considering all of its implications, he continued. Singh emphasised once more that he is innocent of all charges brought against him.

The wrestling federation's events have been put on hold by the Sports Ministry until the wrestlers' claims are thoroughly investigated.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur ordered the creation of a "oversight committee" to look into the accusations made against the WFI, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and a few trainers in reaction to a protest conducted by wrestlers against the WFI president earlier this year.

On April 23, well-known wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Mallik returned to the Jantar Mantar protest site and asserted that despite a complaint of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh being filed at the Connaught Place Police Station by six female wrestlers and a minor.

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