Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was notably accused of sexual assault, was released on bail by a local court on Thursday, his lawyer said.

Brij Bhushan Singh, who is also an MP for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been accused by other Olympic medalists and Indian wrestlers of groping female athletes and demanding sexual favors.

Mr Singh, 66, who denies all charges against him, considers himself a victim of “conspiracyBJP MP calls their protest “political revenge“.

Wrestlers protest

In April, a group of wrestlers demonstrated in the capital New Delhi demanding his arrest, and he was charged in June. At the end of May, they demonstrated to the new seat of the Indian Parliament, at the time of its inauguration by Narendra Modi. Two of them were arrested and briefly detained, some were charged with rioting. The protests by India’s top wrestlers, including world champion Vinesh Phogat and Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, lasted several weeks, drawing support and sympathy from across the country.

The former accused the WFI coach and president in January of sexually assaulting athletes during a national prep camp. Other athletes, including javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, provided their support.

Wrestling is hugely popular in rural north India and images of star athletes being arrested as they attempted to march to parliament in May have gone viral on social media.