Ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan pleads not guilty at sexual harrassment trial

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

India's scandal-hit ex-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party, pleaded not guilty to sexual harassment of female athletes as his trial opened on Tuesday. He denied he had groped female athletes and demanded sexual favours from them. "When I have not committed any mistake, why will I admit it?" Singh told the court in the capital Delhi on Tuesday, NDTV news network reported. Singh, 67, was charged last June with sexually harassing and stalking women wrestlers.

Meanwhile, the seven-member selection committee has decided not to hold trials for the Paris Olympics, WFI president Sanjay Singh told IANS. Earlier, a couple of women wrestlers, who have qualified for Olympics, had requested the WFI not to subject them to selection trials, saying that every step they take and every little thing they do from now on will have a bearing on India's medal chances at the Olympics. However, sources told IANS that one senior Indian wrestler is not happy with the decision and is considering legal recourse to challenge WFI's move.

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