Who is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh? WFI president accused of sexual misconduct by protesting wrestlers

The Wrestling Federation of India is in the spotlight at the moment and for all wrong reasons after their star athletes Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and a host of other prominent faces from the wrestling world staged a protest against them at the iconic Jantar Mantar.

Allegations made by the star faces were quite serious as WFI's president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was accused of sexual harassment of women's wrestlers, death threats, wrestlers' sponsorship fund embezzlement, and athletes' mismanagement among others.

The wrestlers' demands are simple and yet difficult as they asked for WFI's long-term serving president's immediate resignation, which was followed by the disbandment of the federation all together.

But who is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who didn't just deny such allegations but is also "willing to be hanged" if they are found true.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh: Six-time MP from UP

A powerful face of BJP from UP's Gonda district, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a six-time Minister of Parliament and has represented Gonda, Kaiserganj and Balrampur constituencies. Out of these six times, only once he didn't contest as a BJP candidate as he had a short stint with the Samajwadi Party during the 2009 election.

His wife Ketki Devi Singh has been president of the Gonda Zila Panchayat. His son Prateek Bhushan Singh is also an incumbent MLA from the Gonda Sadar seat.
Brij Bhushan Charan Singh an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition.

Starting his career as a wrestler, Singh enjoyed an image of a 'Bahubali' by the 90s and had a case against him under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) in the mid-90s, accused of harbouring associates of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim: Subhash Singh Thakur, Jayendra Thakur alias Bhai Thakur, Paresh Desai and Shyam Kishore Garikapatti.

He also allegedly gave them his phone to speak to Dawood. He was later acquitted of these charges.

As per his election affidavit for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Singh has four pending cases against him in Ayodhya and Gonda. He also faces charges such as dacoity, attempts to murder and rioting, among others.

He later also claimed in an interview of killing a gunman, who killed his associate Ravinder Singh.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's dictatorial regime at WFI

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has had a stranglehold over WFI for over 12 years now with rumours of his autocratic way of functioning making rounds every now and then.

Notably, a few of his acts came into the spotlight last year when he slapped a wrestler on stage during a function. He also denied exemption to the likes of Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat from World Championships trials in August right after the Commonwealth Games while Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, and Deepak Punia were granted exemptions.

He also controversially denied foreign coaches to elite wrestlers and at the national camp as well, stressing reliance on indigenous coaches despite repeated requests from the athletes.

Last year, Singh also made it mandatory for the private sponsors not to approach wrestlers directly while adding that the sponsors need to contribute to the federation as well before finding the wrestlers.

During the wrestlers' protest at the Jantar Mantar, decorated wrestler Vinesh Phogat claimed that there are at least 20 women wrestlers, who have shared their plight of sexual misconduct by WFI top brass, including Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Phogat later added there are at least six women's wrestlers, who are willing to testify against him if the WFI is not disbanded.

Phogat, along with Bajrang Punia, claimed that they also received multiple death threats from Singh and his stooges, forcing them to keep mum out of fear for their life all this while.

Tension within BJP

2022 also saw him having trouble with his own party BJP as he openly criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for "shoddy arrangements" during the floods, especially in Gonda district.

"I have never seen such bad arrangements in my life," he had said. Singh further added that he might be called a "rebel" for "speaking the truth".

Earlier, he also threatened to teach a lesson to MNS leader Raj Thackeray if he entered Ayodhya. This comment came at a time when Thackeray's MNS was growing closer to the BJP.

His behaviour has not gone down well with BJP as insiders of the party also claimed that accusations of sexual misconduct against him wouldn't have been out in the open if not for backing within the centre-ruling party.

"Look at the manner in which it is happening. Prominent athletes coming out. They are at Jantar Mantar. Some of them have so much to lose. This wouldn't have happened without support from powerful people," a source within the BJP disclosed told Quint.

Bitter tussle with Baba Ramdev

It's also rumoured that his better feud with Yoga guru and business magnate Baba Ramdev could be the instigator of the ongoing controversy. Singh has been a bitter critic of Ramdev and his products.

It has been reported that the major reason why Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is not sacked by BJP yet because he doesn't hold any minister portfolio. Earlier Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh resigned after an accusation of sexual misconduct by a coach.