Wrestlers' protest: India police to register case against wrestling leader

Police in India’s capital Delhi have advised the supreme courtroom that they will check in a case against the chief of the usa’s wrestling federation.

The court docket was hearing a petition by way of pinnacle wrestlers in opposition to Brij Bhushan Singh over allegations of sexual abuse via several lady athletes.

The protesters had alleged that the police did no longer register a case towards Mr Singh no matter numerous complaints accusing him of sexual harassment.

Mr Singh has denied the allegations.

The wrestlers had called off protests in January after the authorities promised to look at their complaints.

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but they relaunched the agitation ultimate week, demanding on the spot action in opposition to Mr Singh, who’s the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and a lawmaker and baby-kisser from the governing Bharatiya Janata birthday celebration (BJP).

The pinnacle court had stated the allegations in the petition were “extreme” and asked the Delhi Police for an evidence. The police then said that they needed to do a “initial enquiry” earlier than submitting a case, adding that they were prepared to achieve this right away if directed by way of the court.
but, on Friday, the Delhi police advised the ideally suited court docket that they would record a case in opposition to Mr Singh before the cease of the day.

On Thursday, PT Usha, president of the Indian Olympic association (IOA) and one in every of India’s most distinguished athletes, sparked outrage whilst she accused the protesting wrestlers of tarnishing the usa’s photograph by means of “protesting at the streets”. She stated that they have to have approached the IOA’s athletes’ fee alternatively.

Her comments drew sharp reactions from competition politicians and the protesting wrestlers.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted that India’s picture would be tarnished handiest if the concerns raised by means of the wrestlers had been ignored.

Wrestler Sakshi Malik, an Olympic medallist who’s a part of the protests, requested how the protests amounted to indiscipline when the protesters were voicing their worries peacefully. “Being a female athlete, she isn’t always being attentive to different girls athletes,” she stated.

The wrestlers have obtained assist from a few prominent sportspersons. Neeraj Chopra, who gained the gold medal in javelin in the remaining Olympics, said that it hurt him to see India’s athletes having to call for justice by hitting the streets and urged government to deal with the difficulty in an “unbiased and obvious” manner.

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every other Olympic medallist, Abhinav Bindra, said that the athletes’ concerns should be “heard and addressed pretty and independently”, while tennis big name Sania Mirza said it turned into “time to now stand with them in this tough time”.

On Friday, #IStandWithMyChampions commenced trending on Twitter as humans used it to expose assist for the protesting athletes.

Boxing international champion Nikhat Zareen joined the fashion and stated that she was hoping justice might be served on the earliest, even as Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker tweeted that it became “shameful” that athletes have been protesting on the streets even as a “BJP MP is being consistently shielded with the aid of the authorities”.

In January, Vinesh Phogat, one among India’s most embellished ladies wrestlers, alleged that at the least 10 woman wrestlers had advised her that they had been sexually exploited by way of Mr Singh. She and different protesters also stated that some coaches had misbehaved with athletes and criticised the WFI’s functioning. at the time, the WFI had denied all of the allegations made by the wrestlers, consisting of that of sexual misconduct.

The authorities in the end asked Mr Singh to step apart for a few weeks and fashioned a panel to supervise the federation’s sports. The IOA additionally set up a committee to investigate the allegations against Mr Singh.

The committee submitted its document in April however its findings have not been made public yet.

The IOA has additionally set up a panel to supervise the daily functioning of the WFI and keep elections to its govt committee.

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