It is really strange that the Delhi Police do not want to take any action against the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) against whom seven female wrestlers have made allegations of sexual harassment. Even after they approached the Supreme Court, the police have taken the stand that a preliminary inquiry is needed to take action against Brij Bhushan Singh, who happens to be an MP of the ruling BJP. In fact, the women had not complained all of a sudden and an “internal inquiry” had also been conducted. One of the complainants happens to be a minor which makes the complaint more serious and worthy of invoking the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
One needs to imagine how the Delhi Police would have reacted if the charges were made against a not-so-well-connected ordinary person. He would have been immediately arrested and held in jail without bail. What’s worse, the wrestlers have been forced to demonstrate in public against the police apathy. The heavens would not have fallen if the political leadership of the country had asked the president in question to step aside and let the law take its own course. Nothing disastrous would happen to Indian wrestling if Singh is asked to set an example. One can only hope that better counsel would prevail in the upper echelons of the administration before the case is taken up once again on Friday. The impression that a sexual harasser can get away with harassment needs to be nipped in the bud.
