After more than 6 months of on and off protests, the Indian wrestlers have now decided to withdraw their protests on the streets. Their protest was against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and accusations against him of sexual harassment and more.
Why Did The Wrestler’s Call Off Protest?
On Sunday it was announced that the Indian wrestlers were calling off the protest that they had been conducting on the streets of Delhi since almost January of this year now. They said that the fight against the Wrestling Federation of India chief will now be kept to courts and not the roads.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia all posted on their oficial Twitter accounts a statement in Hindi writing that “As per the talks held on June 7, the government has implemented our demands. The Delhi Police on June 15 had submitted before court the chargesheet after conducting probe into allegations of sexual harassment on basis of FIR filed by six women wrestlers. Now, the fight will continue in court and not on roads till justice is delivered.”
Earlier also the wrestler’s had halted the protests till 15th June 2023 after having a long in-depth discussion with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
Bajrang Punia speaking with ANI had said “We will put forth all the points in front of the other wrestlers, Khap leaders, and our supporters. If no action is taken by June 15, we will continue our protest,” and added “Government has assured us that the police investigation will be completed before 15th June. We have requested that all FIRs against wrestlers should be taken back and he has agreed to it. If no action is taken by 15th June, we will continue our protest”.
The biggest reasons for the wrestler’s calling off the protest entirely had been after they were assured that their demands would be met by the government and that the WFI president would not be allowed to take part in the WFI elections taking place soon.
Read More: “Take Your Bullet On My Chest,” Wrestler Bajrang Punia On Ex-IPS Officer’s Bullet Warning
Some of the demands they had put up initially and later on in front of Thakur, were apparently met or agreed to by the government. These included:
- Filing of a chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Singh by June 15th which has since been presented in court too.
- The formation of an Internal Complaints Committee of WFI headed by a woman.
- “Regarding the reform in WFI, the election process, as promised, has begun. We will wait for the fulfilment of promises made by the government regarding the July 11 elections.”
As per reports the Delhi Police filed a 1500 page chargesheet against the WFI chief that included accusations:
- sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty)
- 354A (sexual harassment)
- 354D (stalking) IPC
Even Vinod Tomar, Singh’s assistant secretary has been booked under sections 109 (abetment) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Apparently the protesting wrestlers also reached out to the Sports Minister asking for time to prepare for trials to upcoming competitions like Asian Games and World Wrestling Championships.
As per their letter “The six participants of wrestlers’ protest (Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Satyawart Kadian, Sangeeta Phogat and Jitender Kumar) need time to prepare for the trials. We request you (Thakur) to conduct the trials after 10 August 2023.”
The World Championships in Belgrade are said to be from September 16 to 24 while the Asian Games in Hangzhou will be from October 4th to 7th 2023. Both events offer berths for the eventual Olympic Games in Paris that will be held next year.
After the announcement, it also came out that Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik would now be taking a short break from social media.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Firstpost, Hindustan Times, India Today
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bajrang Punia, Bajrang Punia wrestler protest, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh wfi, Indian Olympic Association, indian Wrestler Protest, Sakshi Malik, vinesh phogat, Wrestlers protest, wrestlers protests delhi, wrestlers protests delhi police, wrestlers protests Jantar Mantar, Wrestling Federation, wfi election, Wrestlers Withdraw Protest
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