Protesting against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, India’s top wrestlers have threatened to boycott the Asian Games this year if their demands are not met.
2016 Olympic medalist wrestler Sakshi Malik said- We will participate in Asian Games only when all these issues are resolved. You cannot understand what we are going through mentally every day.
It is noteworthy that a case has also been registered against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and the BJP MP on several serious allegations of sexual harassment.
The protesting wrestlers, including Malik and Bajrang Punia, on Saturday held a mahapanchayat with Khap leaders in Sonepat, Haryana.
Punia said Pahalwan will share the details of his discussion with the government along with the Khap leaders in the mahapanchayat.
On reports of rift between the wrestlers, Malik said- I want to clarify one thing, I, Bajrang and Vinesh (Phogat) are one and will remain the same.
After a five-hour meeting on Wednesday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur presented a written proposal to the protesting wrestlers. The resolution assured the wrestlers of an inquiry by the head of the wrestling federation by June 15, but did not mention his arrest.
Malik said- After June 15, we will decide where to start the protest again.
The wrestlers have been protesting in the national capital for over two months. They are demanding the removal and arrest of wrestling federation chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment.
The Delhi Police on Friday also visited the office of wrestling association chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as part of its probe into allegations of sexual harassment against a woman wrestler. Singh’s official residence houses the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) office.
Women policemen were also with the wrestler. He reached the WFI office at 1.30 pm and spent half an hour there. During this, the wrestler was asked to recreate the scene of the alleged harassment and recall the places where he felt harassed. Hours after the police left, wrestler Vinesh Phogat expressed her dismay at the media reports. He wrote on Twitter – It was claimed that the wrestlers had reached the WFI office to make a settlement.
He wrote – This is the power of Brij Bhushan. He is engaged in harassing women wrestlers by running his muscle power, political power and false narratives, hence his arrest is necessary. If the police arrests him instead of breaking us, there is hope of justice, otherwise not.
Women wrestlers had gone to the crime site for police investigation, but it was run in the media that they had gone to compromise. Over 180 people have been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as part of its ongoing probe into the allegations, police said
