Wrestlers from India are preparing to continue their demonstrations against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for another month. In the meantime, Vinesh Phogat has stated that they are solely focused on obtaining justice from the court and are unconcerned about the Oversight Committee.
On Wednesday, the protesting wrestlers stated that they are no longer concerned about the findings of the Oversight Committee that was established by the Sports Ministry and that they want the court to be the only institution to deliver justice. On January 23, the Sports Ministry appointed the famed boxer MC Mary Kom to head a six-member panel that was tasked with investigating claims of sexual harassment made by female grapplers against the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The Sports Ministry instructed the group to report its findings by the end of the month.
The report was turned in by the committee during the first week of April, but the ministry has not yet made the conclusions of the investigation public. Vinesh Phogat, who won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018, responded, “That is past,” when she was asked if she was aware of the findings of the Oversight Committee. We are not having a discussion or thinking about what the committee has or has not done at this time. The committee met for a total of three months; its work is now finished, and the dispute has been brought before a court. Vinesh stated that this will be the primary priority moving forward.
The protest by India’s top wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, who are demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan for allegedly sexually abusing seven women grapplers, entered its 25th day with no sign of a resolution in sight. They are demanding that Brij Bhushan be arrested for the allegations that he made against them. On Wednesday, the grapplers and their supporters participated in a march beginning at Jantar Mantar and ending at Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, where they offered prayers.
“We are certain that we will emerge victorious from this battle for justice. We are going to put out our best effort to ensure that the wrestling community around the world is aware of our predicament and reaches out to athletes competing in other sports. Vinesh continued by saying that there is not a single nation that has been spared from allegations of sexual harassment in the sporting world.
She went on to say that the senior leaders of the khap panchayat were going to make a decision on May 21 that would be extremely important for their fight against Brij Bhushan. The wrestlers have set the date of May 21 as the deadline for taking actual action against Brij Bhushan. Whatever decision is made by our elders on that day would be legally obligatory for us. They will determine the course of action that we take in the future,” added Vinesh.
In addition, she voiced her disapproval of the individuals who were attempting to imbue the unrest of the wrestlers with a political overtone. “The purpose of our demonstration is not to provide a platform for political parties. There is no charge for admission to Jantar Mantar for any citizen of the country. She stated that at the location of the protest, they do not discriminate based on party affiliation, religious affiliation, or caste boundaries.
On Tuesday, the wrestlers travelled to the Hanuman temple located close to Connaught Place. They were accompanied by the president of the Bhim Army, Chandrashekhar Azad, as well as hundreds of followers. After the march, Olympic and World Championship medalist Bajrang Punia addressed the media and made a plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene and ensure that the female wrestlers receive justice. The wrestlers had also given the impression that they may extend their protest to the Ram Lila ground in an effort to turn it into a “national movement.”