From Podium To Footpath: Protest Against WFI Chief Resumes, Wrestlers Spend Night At Delhi Protest Site

Several prominent wrestlers who protested against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, and other trainers, accusing them of sexually harassing women wrestlers, earlier this year are all se to charge them with a fresh complaint and protest at the national capital, Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Almost seven women wrestlers have filed complaints against the sexual harassment against the WFI chief Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh at the Connaught Place police station in Central Delhi.

FIR is yet to be filed

Wrestler Sakshee Malikkh said an FIR (First Information Report) based on the complaint is yet to be filed. She also added they are frustrated that a government panel report on the issue hasn’t been made public yet.

She said, “We want the report, which has recorded women wrestlers’ statement, to be public. It’s a sensitive issue, one of the complainants is a minor girl,” adding that the names of the complainants must not be leaked.

“We won’t leave from here until Brij Bhushan is arrested,” Bajrang Punia, another top wrestler, said.

Vinesh Phogat said they aren’t getting any response from the government despite repeated attempts. “We are going to sleep and eat here till we get justice.

“From podium to footpath”

Taking to Twitter, Vinesh Phogat shared a picture of wrestlers sleeping on a footpath in the national capital and wrote, “From podium to footpath.”

Podium से फुटपाथ तक।

आधी रात खुले आसमान के नीचे न्याय की आस में। pic.twitter.com/rgaVTM5WGK

— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) April 23, 2023

She also said “We have been trying to contact them (Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and other relevant authorities) for three months. The members of the committee are not responding to us, sports ministry has also not said anything, they don’t even pick up our calls. We have won the country’s medals and put our careers at stake for this.”

Five-members committee

Taking notes from the complaint, the central Sports Ministry formed a five-member oversight committee, headed by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom, on January 23 and asked it to submit its findings in one month.

Later, it extended the deadline by two weeks and added Babita Phogat to the probe panel as its sixth member on the insistence of the protesting wrestlers.

The committee submitted its report in the first week of April, but the ministry is yet to make its findings public. Despite that, sources said the wrestlers could not prove the sexual harassment allegations against the WFI boss after several hearings.

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“Serious issue”

Earlier, the wrestlers said they did not want the route because they had faith in the Prime Minister, but had warned of going to the police if the government didn’t act. They said they were not satisfied with talks at the Sports Ministry brokered by Olympian Babita Phogat, a member of the BJP and part of the Haryana government. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had also met the wrestlers about the issue, calling the allegations “serious.”

Moreover, the Delhi Commission for Women which looks after women’s issues, has issued a notice to Delhi Police for failing to register an FIR in the matter. The wrestlers had complained to the Commission that they have given a written complaint to the Delhi Police two days back, but their FIR has not been registered so far.

“The complainant has informed the Commission that several women wrestlers including a minor have alleged that the accused person has indulged in the crime of sexual harassment against them during his tenure at the Wrestling Federation of India,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal said.

It claimed that the complainant informed the Commission that instead of an FIR being filed in the matter, some of the complainants and their family members have started getting phone calls enquiring about the identities of the complainants from an IPS officer posted in the Sports Ministry.

False allegations against me: WFI chief

Despite all the allegations against WFI chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is a BJP MP, has refuted the charges. “All the sexual harassment allegations are false, and I will commit suicide if they are found to be true,” the 66-year-old was earlier quoted as saying by news agency ANI. The federation said that the athletes who have levelled sexual harassment charges against the WFI chief have a hidden agenda.