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Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
16 May 2009 – 4 June 2024
Preceded byBeni Prasad Verma
Succeeded byKaran Bhushan Singh
ConstituencyKaiserganj
In office
17 May 2004 – 16 May 2009
Preceded byRizwan Zaheer
Succeeded byConstituency Demolished Now Shravasti
ConstituencyBalrampur
In office
10 October 1999 – 6 February 2004
Preceded byKirti Vardhan Singh
Succeeded byKirti Vardhan Singh
ConstituencyGonda
In office
20 June 1991 – 10 May 1996
Preceded byRaja Anand Singh
Succeeded byKetki Devi Singh
ConstituencyGonda
President of Wrestling Federation of India
In office
5 April 2012 – 21 December 2023
Preceded byDeepender Singh Hooda
Succeeded bySanjay Singh
Personal details
Born (1957-01-08) 8 January 1957 (age 67)
Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (1987–2008, 2014–present)
Samajwadi Party (2008–2014)
SpouseKetki Devi Singh
Children3, including Prateek Bhushan Singh and Karan Bhushan Singh
Parent(s)Late Shri Jagdamba Sharan Singh (father)
Smt Pyari Devi (mother)
ResidenceGonda
Alma materM.A.,L.L.B.
Websitebrijbhushansingh.in
As of 12 April, 2010
Source: [1]

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.[1][2] He was the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.[3] 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 won by a margin of more than 140,000 votes.[4][5]

His political career is marked by many controversies; he was arrested in the demolition of the Babri Masjid case and booked under the anti-terrorism law TADA for harbouring the shooters of Dawood Ibrahim gang.[6] However, he was later acquitted in both cases.[7][8]

He is at the centre of accusations of the sexual harassment of India's top female wrestlers, wherein seven female wrestlers, including one minor, have testified against him in a first information report (FIR).[9][10] These accusations led to the 2023 wrestlers' protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.[11][12]

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.[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]

Political career

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a six-time Member of Parliament, five times as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and once as a member of the Samajwadi Party.[8] In 1991, he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha from Gonda constituency in Uttar Pradesh as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. He was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 from the same constituency. 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 the BJP expelled him for cross-voting in the parliament during the 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence.[8][18] In 2009, he was re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha from Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh state. He rejoined the BJP 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 to 2023.

Controversies

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]

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

Main article: 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest

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]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Kumar, Mayank (21 January 2023). "BJP MP accused of harassing wrestlers is a controversial bahubali with a wide fanbase". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  3. ^ emmanuel. "Wrestling Federation of India". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "BJP drops Brij Bhushan Singh, fields his son Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj". 2 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b "'Baahubali', braggart, all-round bigwig: Why WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh thinks he's above the law". 23 January 2023.
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  50. ^ Khare, Vineet (4 May 2023). "Vinesh Phogat: India wrestler says she told PM Modi about harassment". BBC. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
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