Wrestlers protest: Govt not to allow WFI elections till matter resolved, say sources

By Payal Mehta
New Delhi [India], April 23 : India's top wrestlers resumed their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over the allegations of sexual harassment at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Sunday.
"Wrestlers protest unjustified. They were heard by the minister and the Ministry. The Minister sat with them in a meeting for over 12 hours. On their demand, a committee was formed. They further asked for the addition of another name that too was done! They cannot be protesting till the entire report is examined," said a top government source.
Sources said WFI wanted to hold its election, but it will not be allowed by the government till the Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh matter is sorted out. Till the matter is sorted out, the government will ask the Indian Olympic Association to look after the day-to-day matters of the association.
"On their front, the government is putting a hold on the Wrestling Federation election. The government will ask Indian Olympic Association or set up a Committee of Administrators to run the matter till then," said the source.
The source further said, "The wrestlers are demanding that Anurag Thakur should have met them, but since the enquiry is ongoing and that the enquiry was set up by the Sports Ministry under Thakur. It would be unfair to meet the wrestlers at this stage. But the government, especially the Sports Minister has constantly engaged with the wrestlers. Earlier, the Minister gave them a hearing for over 13 hours before announcing the committee."
According to sources, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had dropped his programme in Himachal Pradesh to join a meeting with protesting wrestlers.
"The wrestlers did not turn around in the morning but came late in the evening. Even then also Anurag Thakur cancelled all his appointments and waited for them and then the committee was announced. The committee was announced as per the demand of the wrestlers, and when they asked for an additional member, even that was honoured by the government," added the source.
Having waited for three months, star wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia again started their protest against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday and said that they took the step after alleging that no action has been taken in the matter and said that the FIR has not been registered against the WFI chief.
Ace India wrestler Sakshi Malik broke down while interacting with the media as wrestlers protest at Jantar Mantar.
"We wanted to file a sexual harassment FIR against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We got a complaint filed two days ago but FIR has not been registered yet. There are seven female wrestlers and one of them is a minor. We want the investigation to happen fast. It is a sensitive matter. We are being framed as liars which we cannot bear. We are waiting for two and a half months now but no one is listening. People are saying we are spent force that is why we are protesting. We just won a medal at CWG 2022," Sakshi Malik told the media at Jantar Mantar.
"It is being heard that we are finished, that is why we are protesting. For two and a half months the government has not taken any action. We cannot reveal the name of a minor. Otherwise, her name and career will get spoilt," she added.
Earlier in January this year, top Indian wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya and Sakshi Malik, held a sit-in protest in Jantar Mantar, demanding that Brij Bhushan be removed from the head office and Wrestling Federation of India be disbanded. They had accused the body and its chief of sexual harassment and mistreatment of wrestlers.
Following the protest, in January, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formation of an 'oversight committee' to probe allegations levelled against the Wrestling Federation of India and its chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other coaches. The committee was given the task of submitting a report on the issue to the Ministry.
Olympic medalist Mary Kom is heading the Oversight Committee. Former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former shuttler Trupti Murgunde, SAI member Radhica Sreeman, former CEO of the Target Olympic Podium Plan Rajesh Rajagopalan and CWG gold medalist Babita Phogat are the other members of the Mary Kom-led committee.
But in April, Punia had said that the wrestlers would go to court to protest against the report of the oversight committee appointed to investigate the matter and allegations put up by prominent Indian wrestlers against the WFI and its president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.
Speaking to ANI, Punia said, "I read an article in which one of the committee members said that the report has been submitted to the Sports ministry without his signatures. The member also expressed his/her disagreement with the report. If a committee member is not involved in report submission and disagrees with the report, how are we supposed to trust it?"
"We were not even informed that the report was submitted to the ministry," he added.
Punia also said that WFI should make public the statements given by female wrestlers in a sting operation to a private TV channel if it feels it is innocent and also, people get to decide who is right or wrong.
The wrestler said that they (wrestlers) will start protesting once again and will even go to the high court as soon as possible.
"We have to carry on with our sport, but we will protest and go to the high court as soon as possible," said Punia.