'Hang me but wrestling should not stop': WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh says protests affecting sport

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, facing serious allegations of sexual harassment by women athletes on Monday said that the never-ending protests have affected the sport to an extent that it has come to a standstill in the past four months. He further reiterated that he is ready to face capital punishment if that helps in resuming the wrestling activity.

Singh earlier said that resigning from his post wasn't a big deal for him, but he won't do it "as a criminal.”

He claimed that stopping wrestling activity is harmful to cadet and junior athletes.

His statement came at a time when all the wrestling activities have come to halt after protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar seeking Brij Bhushan Singh's arrest and ouster from the federation.

"Don't play with the future of children. Allow the cadet nationals to take place. Whosoever organises it, be it the government or the WFI, don't stop the wrestling activity," the federation chief told reporters.

Meanwhile, in an interview with ABP, Singh said some of the people claimed that he has sexually harassed 1,000 females, "as if I have eaten roti made of Shilajit”.

“Earlier, they were saying that I had sexually abused 100 children. Then they started saying that it happened to 1,000 children. Did I eat roti made of Shilajit?” Singh told the channel.

Several wrestlers who have brought laurels for the country in international competitions have been protesting at Jantar Mantar, demanding that the government make public the findings of an oversight panel that investigated the sexual harassment charges levelled against Singh.

The wrestlers are in no mood to leave the protest venue till Singh is apprehended. They started their protests last week again, demanding that the conclusions of the panel that investigated the charges be made public.

The wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, had alleged the authorities did not file the FIR for long despite their requests.

The Delhi Police have filed two cases against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. One of the FIRs is over a complaint of sexual harassment by a minor, filed under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which gives no scope for bail.

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