An exclusive survey conducted by CVoter for IANS reveals that a majority of Indians not only support the female wrestlers who have levelled charges of sexual harassment and molestation against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, but also want the police to arrest him as soon as possible.
One of the key demands of the wrestlers, who were sitting on a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, is the immediate arrest of the BJP MP.
Based upon a petition filed in the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police registered a series of FIRs against Singh. One of the FIRs has been filed under the stringent POCSO Act that covers sexual crimes against minors.
One question asked during the survey was: Do you support the demand of wrestlers to arrest Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh even before the investigation is complete? Overall, close to 56 per cent of the respondents agreed with the demand while a significantly lower 27 per cent disagreed with the demand to arrest Singh. While close to two thirds of opposition supporters agree with the demand, more than 43 per cent of NDA spotters also concurred.
A number of wrestlers, including Asian, Commonwealth and Olympic Medal winners like Vignesh Poghat, Sakhshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, initially levelled serious charges against Brij Bhushan Singh in January this year.
A committee was set up by the Ministry of Sports to investigate the allegations. The matter is now also being monitored by the Supreme Court.
After a lull, the protests have intensified since April. The protesting wrestlers are demanding the immediate arrest of Brij Bhushan Sigh while he continues to claim that he is being framed on false charges.
A large number of opposition parties and civil society groups have backed the wrestlers ever since they resumed their protests in April against inaction by authorities at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. They were arrested while marching towards the new parliament building on May 28 when it was formally inaugurated and the protest site has since been cleared.
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