NEW DELHI — Indian police filed charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation on Thursday against the chief of the country’s wrestling federation, a powerful member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, following complaints made by female wrestlers.
Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastav read out the charges at a court hearing in the capital, New Delhi.
The investigations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a member of Parliament from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, followed months of complaints by the country’s top wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medalists.
In an interview on Wednesday with local media, Singh rejected all allegations against him.
The wrestlers began a sit-in protest against the lack of action in April and were briefly detained by police in New Delhi as they cleared the site the following month.
Images of the athletes being dragged away and carried off in buses went viral, drawing criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.
The wrestlers also threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges — India’s holiest river — before agreeing to meet Home (Interior) Minister Amit Shah and later the sports minister.
Amid mounting outrage, the wrestlers suspended their protest after Sports Minister Anurag Thakur promised a June 15 deadline to conclude the investigation into Singh.