Wrestlers' protest: Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Malikkh, others to 'immerse medals in Ganga', sit on hunger strike at India Gate 

Wrestlers protest update: India’s Olympic-winning wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat on Tuesday said in a public letter that they will go to Haridwar and immerse their medals in river Ganga at 6pm. The wrestlers, who were removed from their protest site at Jantar Mantar and detained, also said they will sit on a hunger strike at India Gate.

The letter written in Hindi read: “We are going to immerse these medals in river Ganga… The more sacred we consider the Ganga, the more sacredly we had achieved these medals by toiling hard. These medals are sacred for the whole country and the right place should be in the Ganga itself”.

The statement also took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday. The wrestlers said Prime Minister Modi “who calls us our daughters” did not show his concern for the wrestlers even once.

The statement read: “Rather, he invited the ‘oppressor’ to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs in bright white clothes. We have been stained by this brightness”. The wrestlers’ statement further stated even though their lives would be futile after losing their medals, they cannot continue compromising their self-respect.

The wrestlers also wondered who they would return their medals to. Commenting on why they didn’t feel like returning their medals to President Droupadi Murmu, they wrote: “The President, who is a woman herself, sat barely two kilometres away and watched. She didn’t say anything”.

The wrestlers’ heart-wrenching letter comes days after the Delhi Police filed an FIR against wrestlers under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Delhi Police detained 109 protestors were detained at Jantar Mantar on charges of rioting and disrupting public servants while discharging duty.

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Why are India’s Olympians protesting on the streets of Delhi?

30 wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Malikkh, Anshu Malik, and Bajrang Punia have been protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and its coaches. The WFI head and coaches have been accused of sexual harassment by multiple female athletes including a minor.

The wrestlers have called for disbanding the organisation. Out of the incidents reported by the wrestlers, four have reportedly taken place at Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s house. Some of these incidents also allegedly took place during the tournaments both in India and abroad.

Centre forms oversight committee led by Mary Kom 

After the wrestlers’ allegations, the Centre promised to take required action, following which the protests were called off. The government formed an oversight committee led by Mary Kom, which questioned the WFI chief in January this year. The committee then submitted its report to the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry.

Wrestler Babita Phogat said the claims of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were not cross-verified. Soon after this, wrestlers resumed their protests seeking the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The findings of the committee have, however, not been made public so far.

On April 28, the Delhi Police filed an FIR against the WFI chief and other coaches under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant sections. Following this, the protestors formed their own committee and gave an ultimatum to arrest those accused by May 21.

The wrestlers have received support from leaders such as Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

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