Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was born on 8 January 1957 in the Rajput family of Shri Jagdamba Sharan Singh and Smt. Pyari Devi Singh.[13][14][15] He studied law at Saket P.G. College in Ayodhya.[8]
He married Ketki Devi Singh in 1981;they have three sons and a daughter. In 2004,their elder son,Shakti Sharan Singh,committed suicide at the age of 23. Reportedly,he shot himself with a licensed pistol and blamed his father's selfish attitude in a suicide note.[16][17] His other sons are Prateek Bhushan Singh,who has been the BJP MLA of Gonda since 2017,and Karan Bhushan Singh,who is the vice president of WFI and is succeeding Brij Bushan as the BJP's MP candidate from Kaiserganj.[4][5]
According to police records,38 criminal cases were lodged against Brij Bhushan Singh between 1974 and 2007.[7][19] In particular,the FIRs were filed under the stringent Gangsters[20][21] and Goonda Acts[22][23] for various charges,including theft,dacoity,murder,criminal intimidation,attempt to murder and kidnapping,though he was acquitted in most of the cases according to his election affidavit.[24][25][26]
Legal issues
Singh encountered as many as 38 cases against him under various charges including theft,criminal intimidation,murder,attempt to murder,rioting,and kidnapping.[27]
In 1992,he was involved in the Babri Masjid Demolition case and,along with 39 other people,was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was the prime suspect but was acquitted by the Supreme Court of India in 2020. According to The Wire,he later said,"During the movement,I was the first person from the area to be arrested by Mulayam Singh. I was also the first person arrested by the CBI after the controversial structure was demolished."[8]
In 1993,under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act,he was charged with helping associates of Dawood Ibrahim,who allegedly organised the J.J Hospital Shootout in Mumbai. He was acquitted after spending several months in jail.[28][8]
Corruption allegations
In his Lok Sabha 2019 affidavit,Singh declared his total liabilities and assets amounting to less than ₹11 crore.[29] Nevertheless,he reportedly owns two helicopters,one private jet,as well as a number of schools,colleges,hotels,and hospitals.[30][31][32]
Admitting to committing murder
In a video interview with the web portal The Lallantop in 2022,Brij Bhushan stated,"I have committed a murder in the past. Whatever people may say,I did commit a murder. I immediately shot and killed the person who had shot Ravinder dead". Ravinder Singh was his close friend.[8][33]
As president of WFI
After he became the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI),in an interview with The Indian Express,he said,"They [wrestlers] are strong boys and girls. You need someone strong to control them. Is there anyone stronger than me here?"[8][34]
In 2021,during a junior wrestling tournament,he was caught on camera slapping a wrestler on stage.[8][35]
Allegations of sexually assaulting female wrestlers
In January 2023, a group of Olympians and international wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and others organised a sit-in demanding disbanding of the federation due to alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Brij Bhushan. The protests resumed in April 2023 due to government inaction. The protestors demanded that police file an FIR against Brij Bhushan and called for his immediate arrest. The incidents of sexual harassment cited by protestors ranged from 2012 to 2022.[36][37][38]
On 28 April 2023, only after the intervention of the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs against him. One of the FIRs was registered under the POCSO Act (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) for offences against a minor. A second FIR was registered on similar grounds on the complaint of the remaining six adult female wrestlers.[39]
According to a report by the Indian Express, two female wrestler complainants described the way Brij Bhushan used to touch their breasts and stomach sexually on the pretext of checking their breath, in a police complaint on 21 April 2023. One of these women alleged that Brij Bhushan lifted her training jersey without her consent in 2018.[40][41]
On 12 May, the Delhi Police recorded a statement from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh regarding the sexual harassment charges levelled against him by female wrestlers[42] and stated that a female DCP would head a SIT (Special Investigation Team) of 10 people against him.[citation needed]
The FIRs in the case mention allegations against Brij Bhushan and WFI secretary Vinod Tomar. The allegations include demanding sexual favours for professional assistance in at least two cases, at least 15 incidents of sexual harassment which include inappropriate touching by running hands over breasts, touching the navel, several instances of intimidation including stalking, and a shared sense of fear and trauma.[43][44][45][46] The incidents range from years 2012 to 2022 at different places at restaurant, in the WFI office, at tournaments and at a warm-up. Incidents occurred during domestic as well as international tournaments abroad.[44][47]Vinesh Phogat, who has won multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships, claimed she was "mentally harassed, tortured and threatened to be killed" by Brij Bhushan for complaining against him to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then sports minister Anurag Thakur. She was made to face widespread media scrutiny under the guise of missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.[48][49][50]
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