Wrestler Bajrang Punia receives threat message from foreign phone number, lodges police complaint

Sonipat (Haryana) [India], September 8 : Olympian Bajrang Punia who recently got inducted into the Congress and appointed the working President of the Kisan Congress on Sunday received a WhatsApp message that allegedly asked him to "quit Congress immediately or face dire consequences for him and his family members".
The wrestling champion lodged a formal complaint at the Bahalgarh police station in Sonipat district, following the text message that was recieved from an phone registred in a foreign country, Sonipat Superintendant of Police Ravindra Singh said today.
"Bajrang Punia has given a complaint in Bahalgarh Police Station that he has received a threat message from a foreign number," SP Singh said.
Singh said that the threat has been received by an unknown person and the legal action is underway.
"The legal action is underway. An unknown person has given a threat, investigation is underway," he said.
Further details are awaited.
Earlier in the day, Punia alleged double standards from the BJP, saying that had he and Vinesh Phogat joined the BJP they would have been hailed as "patriots" but are now labelled 'anti-nationals' for aligning with the opposition.
Punia expressed confidence that, as a farmer's son, he would raise the concerns of the farmers in a better way.
"I am an athlete and a son of a farmer, as per the responsibility given by the party, I think I can raise concerns of the farmers in a better way... Brijbhushan and BJP have a problem (that we joined Congress). We would have become patriots if we had joined the BJP, but because we have joined the Congress, they are calling us anti-nationals. We are with our leader Rahul Gandhi and his struggle. He is raising the voice of all sections, be it farmers, youth or athletes," he said.
On Friday, Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia joined Congress just a month ahead of the Haryana Assembly Elections.
Within hours of joining the party, Phogat was fielded as a party candidate from the Julana Assembly Constituency. Whereas Punia was appointed as the working president of the All India Kisan Congress.
Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, while Vinesh Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final in Paris last month. The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier on that day.
The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8.