The athletes who are protesting have demanded the immediate arrest of Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, and have requested that the Supreme Court intervene in the matter. The Supreme Court has directed the police to register a case against the accused 66-year-old Singh.
Athletes allege assault
For the past ten days, Indian wrestling leaders have taken to the streets of New Delhi to protest against the inaction taken against the head of the country’s wrestling federation, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of sexual harassment by many of the country’s top wrestlers. Singh, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and a parliamentarian, has denied all the allegations of misconduct against him.
On Wednesday night, the athletes who were camping at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site, which is located near Parliament, alleged that they were assaulted by the police.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was in tears, stated that they were bringing folding cots since there was no place to sleep due to the area being filled with water from the rain. She claimed that a male police officer manhandled and abused them during the process. She also stated that the way they have been treated is unacceptable and she would not want any athlete to win a medal for the country under such circumstances.
The New Delhi police have refuted allegations that their officers assaulted the protesting athletes.
Oversight Committee Inaction
Led by Olympic bronze medalists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, wrestlers took to the streets of New Delhi on January 18th to protest against the alleged sexual harassment of female athletes by Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and several coaches associated with the sport’s governing body. Vinesh Phogat, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games, claimed that multiple women have been sexually harassed by coaches and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). She stated that she personally knows at least 10 to 20 girls who have shared their stories with her from the national camp.
The wrestlers initially called off their protests on January 20th after the government assured them that an oversight committee would investigate the allegations, and the Ministry of Sports stripped the top brass of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) of all administrative powers.
 However, India’s first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, Sakshi Malik, believes that withdrawing the protest was a mistake since the report by the oversight committee was not made public, and the accused individuals may have received a clean chit.Â
The demonstrations resumed last month following what the protesters perceive as government inaction. In a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief, the wrestlers claimed that Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by Singh after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo in 2021, which almost led to her contemplating suicide. The letter also accused the WFI, led by Singh, of financial misappropriation.
WFI President refutes allegations
Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, a six-time member of parliament from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been heading the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) since 2011. In January, he dismissed the sexual harassment allegations made against him by female wrestlers as a political tactic aimed at ousting him from his position. Singh stated that he was willing to be hanged if any female wrestler proved the charges against him.Â
He has accused the wrestlers of being pawns in the hands of the opposition. Singh also cancelled a press conference meant to disclose a “conspiracy” against him and instead sent out his son to address the reporters.
The government had pledged to complete the investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Singh within four weeks. Although the report was concluded in April, the findings were not made available to the public.
The protests resumed recently as the police had not taken any formal action against Singh or initiated an inquiry into his conduct.
The Supreme Court intervened, questioning the police about their failure to file a case against Singh and describing the accusations as “serious.”
This week, the New Delhi Police informed the Supreme Court that they would register a case against Singh.
