"Wasn't In India...": Ex WFI Chief Brij Bhushan's Fresh Appeal In Court

A Delhi court has deferred its order on framing charges against BJP MP and former wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case filed by women wrestlers.

Brij Bhushan had filed a fresh application in the Rouse Avenue Court for making further submissions in the case. In his appeal, he claimed he was not in India when one of the complainants was allegedly harassed.

The prosecution called it a delaying tactic and opposed the application. Assistant Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava, representing the Delhi Police, said the application has been filed at a belated stage and calls for seeking further probe.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot then deferred the order and reserved it for April 26.

Brij Bhushan faces charges of sexually harassing women wrestlers, which sparked protests by the country's top wrestlers last year. He had denied the charges, but Delhi Police in January claimed there was sufficient "prima facie" evidence to put Brij Bhushan and his co-accused Vinod Tomar, former assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), on trial.

He stepped aside late last year after helming the Wrestling Federation of India for 12 years. Fresh WFI polls held in December saw Brij Bhushan's aide Sanjay Singh being elected to the top post.

The BJP has dropped the six-time MP as a candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.