‘Some Investigations Punish Accused, Others Save Them’: Kapil Sibal On Probe Into Wrestlers' Allegations Against WFI Chief

The senior advocate’s comments come after the protesting wrestlers on Monday decided to take their "agitation global" by approaching Olympic medalists and athletes from other countries.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who is representing the protesting wrestlers in the Supreme Court, on Tuesday expressed doubts about the fairness of the investigation being carried out into the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Singh. In a tweet, Sibal said, "Investigating: Wrestlers Sexual Abuse. Some investigations move to punish the accused, others to save the accused. The way this investigation is going: We know!" The senior advocate’s comments come after the protesting wrestlers on Monday decided to take their "agitation global" by approaching Olympic medalists and athletes from other countries. The wrestlers warned that if their demand for the arrest of former WFI chief is not met, a "big call" will be made after May 21, news agency PTI reported.

Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, as well as Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat, have been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for the past 23 days, demanding Brij Bhushan's arrest for allegedly sexually harassing women grapplers, including a minor.

"We will take this protest around the world. We plan to contact Olympians and Olympic medalists from other countries. We will write to them and ask for their support," said Vinesh, who won gold at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Friday informed a special court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Singh, reported news agency PTI.

The submission was made before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal while responding to the court's earlier order directing the police to file a status report.

Amid the ongoing investigations, the Delhi Police has also recorded the statement of Singh and the statement of the WFI's assistant secretary Vinod Tomar.

Last month, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Singh. The first FIR is related to allegations levelled by a minor and it has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code concerning outraging modesty. 

However, the second one has been registered over complaints by adults in connection with outraging a woman’s modesty.