Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment, was once charged under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, and was also named in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Hailing from Vishnoharpur of Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, Singh was himself a wrestler. He was also involved in student politics at Saket College in Ayodhya.
He had shot to limelight after he won Lok Sabha election in 1991 by defeating Congress leader Anand Singh under whose mentorship he had worked earlier.
Recently, he was also in the news for slapping a wrestler in Ranchi.
Charged under TADA
In the 90s, he was charged under TADA for sheltering Dawood Ibrahim henchman Subhash Thakur and Jayendra Thakur and Paresh Desai but was later acquitted.
He has 4 cases pending against him as per affidavit in 2019 election which includes attempt to murder charge.
Since 1991 he has lost once in 1998 from Gonda when Anand Singh's son Kirtivardhan Singh, now himself a BJP MP, defeated him as a Samajwadi Party nominee.
He was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 from the same constituency and in 2004, was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha from Balrampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh state on the BJP ticket.
On July 20, 2008, he joined the Samajwadi Party.
In 2009, he was re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha from Kaiserganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh state.
He later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party months before the 16th general election and is currently a member of Lok Sabha.
His wife Ketki Singh was also an MP when he was in jail under TADA in 1996 and his son Prateek Bhushan Singh is a BJP MLA from Gonda.
Olympian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and other top Indian grapplers are protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital after Vinesh levelled serious allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers against the sports body's coaches and president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist broke down while speaking to reporters on Wednesday, as more than 30 wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, staged a protest at the Jantar Mantar here.
Vinesh said she was subjected to mental harassment by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, adding that she had even contemplated suicide.
On Thursday morning, Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat tweeted their support to the protesting wrestlers who have demanded the removal of the WFI president.
(With inputs from IANS)
