Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh (born 8 January 1957) is an Indian politician. He was a six time Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the president of the Wrestling Federation of India. In 2024, his son Karan Bhushan Singh, the president of Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Federation, was fielded in his place as the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj and he won by a margin of more than 1.4 lakh votes.

His political career is marked by many controversies, as he was one of the prominent names who was arrested in the demolition of the Babri Masjid case and was also booked under the anti-terrorism law TADA for harbouring the shooters of Dawood Ibrahim gang. However, he was later acquitted for lack of evidence.

He is currently at the centre of the accusations of sexual harassment by India's top female wrestlers, wherein 7 female wrestlers including 1 minor have testified against him in an FIR. These wrestlers include Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, in the ongoing wrestlers' protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Early life, education and sons
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was born on 8 January 1957 in the Rajput family of Shri Jagdamba Sharan Singh and Smt. Pyari Devi Singh. He studied law at Saket P.G. College in Ayodhya.

He married to Ketki Devi Singh in 1981, and 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. His other sons are Prateek Bhushan Singh who is the BJP MLA of Gonda since 2017 and Karan Bhushan Singh who is the vice-president of WFI and is succeeding him as the BJP's MP candidate from Kaiserganj.

Political career
He is a six-time Member of Parliament, five times from BJP and one time from Samajwadi Party. In 1991 he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha from Gonda constituency in Uttar Pradesh as Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. He was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 from the same constituency and in 2004, he was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha from Balrampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh state on the BJP ticket. On 20 July 2008, he joined the Samajwadi Party after BJP expelled him for cross-voting in the parliament during the 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence. In 2009, he was re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha from Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh state. He later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party months before the 16th general election and is currently a member of 17th Lok Sabha from BJP. He was the President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) from 2012-2023.

Controversies
As per police records, 38 criminal cases were lodged against Brij Bhushan Singh between 1974 and 2007. In particular, the FIRs were filed under the stringent Gangsters and Goonda Acts  for various charges including theft, dacoity, murder, criminal intimidation, attempt to murder, and kidnapping, though he was acquitted in most of the cases as per his election affidavit.

Legal issues
Singh once encountered as many as 38 cases against him under various charges including theft, criminal intimidation, murder, attempt to murder, rioting, and kidnapping.

In 1992 he was involved in Babri Masjid Demolition Case, due to which he was arrested by CBI along with 39 other people. He was the prime suspect but was later acquitted by the Supreme Court of India in 2020. Later, according to The Wire, he boasted, "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."

He was charged with the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act in 1993 for allegedly helping associates of Dawood Ibrahim who allegedly organised the J.J Hospital Shootout in Mumbai. He was later acquitted after spending several months in jail.

Corruption allegations
In his Lok Sabha 2019 affidavit, the individual declared total liabilities and assets amounting to less than ₹11 crore. Nevertheless, his assets reportedly include two helicopters, one private jet, as well as a number of schools, colleges, hotels, and hospitals.

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.

As President of WFI
After he became the president of 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?"

In 2021, during a junior wrestling tournament, he slapped a wrestler on stage, and was caught on camera.

Allegations of sexually assaulting female wrestlers
In Jan 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 police file an FIR against Brij Bhushan and his immediate arrest. The incidents of sexual harassment cited by protestors ranged from 2012 to 2022.

On 28 April 2023, only after the intervention of the Supreme Court, did 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 6 adult female wrestlers.

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.

Vinesh Phogat, one of the leading protestors, also alleged that Brij Bhushan "mentally harassed and tortured" her for missing out on a medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

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 and stated that a female DCP would head a SIT (Special Investigation Team) of 10 people against him.

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. The incidents range from years 2012 to 2022 at different places at restaurant, in WFI office, at tournaments and at a warm-up. Incidents happened during domestic as well as international tournaments abroad. 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 the then prime minister Narendra Modi and 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.