Wrestlers continue protest for justice against WFI president

'It's been three months, and we haven't got justice. That's why we are here again, to demand justice. We will sleep, eat here until we get justice'

Top Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, have returned to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to continue their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India and its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

They have accused Singh of sexually harassing seven women, including a minor, and claim that the police have not yet filed an FIR despite their complaint.

Addressing a press conference, Sakshi Malik stated, "We made a complaint at CP Police Station. It has been two days, but no FIR has been registered yet. Seven women complained, which also includes a minor. It makes for a POSCO case, but nothing has been done yet."

Earlier in the day, Vinesh tweeted that "various female wrestlers who have brought laurels to this country have been sexually exploited and harassed by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, President, WFI. The Delhi Police is not registering the FIR despite complaints on 21.04.2023."

Following the protest, the Sports Ministry intervened and constituted an investigation committee to investigate the complaints of the wrestlers and take over the day-to-day functioning of the WFI. The wrestlers had expressed their disappointment that the government did not consult them before forming the oversight committee. The deadline for the committee to submit their report had initially been four weeks but had since been extended.

"It's been three months, and we haven't got justice. That's why we are here again, to demand justice. We will sleep, eat here until we get justice," Vinesh said on Sunday.

"The committee should tell us what their decision is. It hasn't happened yet. At least we should know if we were wrong or who was wrong," Sakshi demanded.

She added, "We keep hearing that we're finished, and that's the reason we are protesting. Are we really finished? We won medals at the latest Commonwealth Games. All we are hearing is that we are protesting because our wrestling careers are over. Why would we do this? We want to save wrestling. We are protesting to take wrestling away from those hands. We hope that truth will win."

"The federation is organising nationals; they're running day-to-day affairs, their office is open, so where are they listening to us? So were we sitting here for nothing? If an FIR is registered, you'll know if we were lying or not. First, you were saying we weren't filing a case, now when seven women have filed a complaint, they're not registering an FIR. We will not move from here unless he's arrested," Bajrang said.

This follows their earlier protest in January, where they had levelled various allegations against Singh and the federation, leading to the government's intervention and an investigation committee's formation. The wrestlers demand justice and will continue protesting until Singh is arrested.