One last time: Wrestlers meet sports minister Anurag Thakur; thaw in sight?

| Updated: 07 June, 2023 3:56 pm IST

Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi (File photo by Sumit Kumar)

NEW DELHI: Top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, engaged in a crucial meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence on Wednesday even as the government aimed to address the ongoing protests by wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. This meeting, the second between the government and the protesting wrestlers, was arranged to break the impasse. The wrestlers had previously met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan for the alleged sexual harassment of seven women grapplers.

READ MORE: Brij Bhushan called me again, pulled my t shirt: Minor wrestler in FIR

Wrestlers presented five demands to Sports Minister Thakur, including fair WFI elections and the selection of a female chief. They emphasized that BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh or his family should not be involved with the WFI, expressing their concerns during the meeting.

Allegations of inappropriate behaviour, including touching, pulling up T-shirts, touching breasts and buttocks, groping, attempts to come closer, and rude behaviour towards female wrestlers, have been made against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by six national and international level wrestlers. These allegations are detailed in the FIR filed by Delhi Police on April 28 at Connaught Place Police Station. The wrestlers have accused WFI secretary Vinod Tomar of assisting Singh in his actions.

READ MORE: Brij Bhushan asked for favours from minor wrestler, FIR reveals

The FIRs have been filed under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, which carry a potential jail term of one to three years. The FIR based on the complaint from the minor’s father also includes Section 10 of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), which carries a potential imprisonment of five to seven years.