Indian police filed charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation on Thursday against the chief of the country's wrestling federation, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, after complaints made by female wrestlers.
Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastav read out the charges at a court hearing in the capital New Delhi.
Singh is a powerful member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of parliament.
"In the FIR registered by the wrestlers, after completion of the investigation, we are filing a chargesheet for the offences under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) of the IPC against accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and for offences under sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and when no express provision is made for its punishment)/ 354/354A/506 (punishment of criminal intimidation) IPC against accused Vinod Tomar before the concerned court," the Delhi Police said.
"In the POCSO matter, after completion of the investigation, we have submitted a police report under Section 173 CrPC requesting a cancellation of the case based upon statements of the complainant -- the father of the victim and the victim herself," they added.
A police source said last week more than 155 people have been questioned in the investigations against Singh. The investigations followed months of complaints by the country's top wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medallists.
In an interview on Wednesday to 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, sparking 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 probe into Singh.
— Additional input from Reuters.