Prominent Indian wrestlers suspended their protest on Wednesday after the country’s sports minister promised a speedy investigation into the federation’s chief who was accused of “sexually harassing” female athletes.
Athletes have pitched tents in New Delhi since mid-April to demand action against the head of the Indian Wrestling Federation, Brij Bhushan Charan Singh, who has denied allegations of sexual harassment.
Last month, the protest was broken up and several wrestlers were briefly arrested, with continued calls for action against Singh, who is also an MP.
Bajrang Punya, an Olympic medalist, was among the delegation that met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday for a meeting that lasted about six hours.
“The government has confirmed that it will complete investigations against Singh by June 15, so we have suspended the protest until then,” said Punya, who won the 65kg bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics.
Singh, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and a six-term MP, has been accused of sexually assaulting seven female players, including a minor.
Singh’s lawyer denied all the allegations and said the union president would cooperate with the police in the investigations.
Bunia and Sakshi Malik, in addition to Asian Games champion Fenech Phogat, announced that they would throw their medals into the Ganga River as part of their demand for the arrest of the federation president, in a protest that took place on May 30.
Sports Minister Thakur, who is also a member of the prime minister’s party, said the police would file an indictment by June 15.
“They asked us to complete the investigation and submit the indictment by June 15, and we will do so,” the minister told reporters.
The Alliance for Sport and Rights, a global coalition of NGOs promoting human rights in sport, urged the IOC to ensure a transparent, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations.
“It takes a lot of courage to break the silence and reveal a case of sexual assault,” said Coalition Coordinator Joanna Maraño. “We stand with the athletes and encourage the IOC to protect them, especially in this deeply imbalanced situation. Their best interest must be the number one priority.”
The International Wrestling Federation issued a statement last week condemning the brief detention of the wrestlers and criticizing the “lack of results” in the investigations against Singh.
He also threatened to shut down the Indian federation if it failed to hold new elections this month.
2023-06-08 05:41:39
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