‘This is their stand, what can we do?’: WFI chief on wrestlers’ call to throw medals in the Ganga
“The matter is under investigation by the Delhi Police. If there is any truth in the allegations, an arrest will be made,” said WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan | File | Image Credit: ANI
Embattled Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Tuesday responded to protesting wrestlers, who gathered in Haridwar on Tuesday and threatened to throw their medals into the Ganga as a mark of protest against him, who it is said that the cases against him are being investigated by the Delhi Police.
Mr. Singh, who has faced allegations of sexual harassment by female wrestlers, added that the grapplers’ decision to take their victories to the water was just their stance. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the six-time BJP MP said, “The matter is under investigation by Delhi Police. The chief added.
As the grapplers arrived in the holy city on Tuesday to present their medals to Ganga, farmer leader Naresh Tikait addressed them. The wrestlers later gave a five-day ultimatum to the authorities to take action against the WFI leader. “Now, they went to Haridwar to dip their medals in the Ganga. But later, they handed it over to Tikait. It’s their stand, what can we do?” he added.
Olympians Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, who have been demanding the removal and arrest of the WFI president over allegations of sexual harassment, reached Haridwar on Tuesday to immerse their medals in the Ganga.
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Earlier, the wrestlers took to Twitter to share a post about the events that took place in the recent past and the way the authorities handled the situation. In their post, the wrestlers said, “You saw everything that happened on May 28, how the police treated us and how they arrested us. We protested peacefully, our premises were vacated and the next day serious charges and FIRs were filed against us. Have the wrestlers committed any crime by seeking justice for the sexual harassment that happened to them? The police and the system treat us like criminals, while the oppressor walks free. He is openly talking about changing the POSCO Act.”
“Yesterday, many of our female wrestlers were hiding in the field. The system should arrest the oppressor but it is engaged in destroying and intimidating the victimized women to end their protest,” said the grapplers. They said the medals they won for the country no longer have any meaning or meaning for them.
“At least we think of death to return the medals but how can we live with our self-respect compromised? We don’t need these medals anymore. If we speak against exploitation, they are preparing to put us in prison,” said the wrestlers. “We will throw these medals in the Ganga. Our medals which we got after hard work are as sacred as the River Ganga. These medals are sacred for the entire nation and the right place to keep the sacred medal can be holy that Ganga and not our unholy system which disguises us and stands with our oppressor after exploiting us. The medal is our life, our soul. We will sit on hunger strike at India gate till death, ” they added in their post.
On Sunday, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia along with Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat were detained by the Delhi Police while trying to march towards the new Parliament building where they planned to hold a demonstration. An FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 , 149, 186, 188, 332, 353, Section 3 of the PDPP Act, Delhi Police said.
