​Wrestlers Protest Updates: SC Seeks Delhi Cops' Reply over Sexual Assault Case Against Brij Bhushan

Wrestlers Protest Updates: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice and sought a response from Delhi police over plea filed by the wrestlers who have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

“There are video recordings to prove allegations of sexual assault. The victims are seven women wrestlers. One of them was 16 years old at the time of harassment. She had won a gold medal,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the top court. He further said that even the police personnel can be prosecuted for not registering a case under stringent sections.

Many have lent their support to the wrestlers. Hours after Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia “invited all parties” to join their agitation, representatives of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) visited Jantar Mantar and interacted with the protesting sports people.

SAI officials were seen holding discussions with wrestlers. “I had come to meet wrestlers and listen to them. I will not say anything on demands,” a SAI official told reporters. Some, however, have been barred from backing the agitation.

According to a report in The Tribune, the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) has barred all its athletes and coaches from joining the wrestlers’ protest. “All SSCB players are hereby informed that a few wrestlers are going to sit on a dharna at Jantar Mantar. All SSCB athletes are requested to keep away from the dharna,” the report quoted SSCB informing all its players.

The report stated that the message by the board was sent to the players in Hindi on its WhatsApp group on Sunday. Tuesday marks the third day of the protest.

Meanwhile, the Union sports ministry has declared the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) proposed elections on May 7 as “null and void”. The latest development is being seen as a move to pacify the agitating wrestlers, who have resumed their sit-in protest after a gap of three months/

The ministry on Monday requested the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form a transitory or ad-hoc committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the WFI and to conduct elections to its new executive committee within 45 days of the formation of such interim body.

“Since wrestling is an Olympic sport and WFI is an affiliate member of the IOA and taking note of the current situation of administrative void in WFI, it becomes incumbent on the part of the IOA to make suitable interim arrangements for managing WFI so that sportspersons of wrestling discipline do not suffer in any manner,” a Times of India report quoted the ministry’s letter.

Who are the Protesters and why the Protest?

The wrestlers present at the protest site include Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat, Satyawart Kadian, Somveer Rathi and Jitender Kinha, among others.

They held a sit-in protest in Jantar Mantar in January this year but ended it after the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had announced the formation of an ‘oversight committee’ to probe the allegations levelled against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other coaches.

The protesters, however, intensified their protest again on Sunday after filing a complaint at the Connaught Place police station on Friday stating that seven female wrestlers, including one minor, were “harassed and exploited” by Brij Bhushan in his capacity as WFI chief.

Bajrang Punia said that this time “all parties are welcome” to join them and they won’t back down till action is taken against the BJP MP. “It’s been more than 48 hours since the complaint was made, but an FIR has not been filed yet,” Punia was quoted by ANI.

The ace wrestler said that this time they will not turn down anyone, and whoever wants to support their protest could come and join them. “…This time, all parties are welcome to join our protest whether it is BJP, Congress, AAP or any other party…..we’re not affiliated with any party…,” he said.

Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) has issued a notice to Delhi Police to register an FIR on the issue.

Who All Have Lent Support to Protest?

Congress: The All India Mahila Congress on Monday joined the protesting wrestlers. Mahila Congress president Netta D’Souza, who was spotted wiping tears of Sakshi Malik at the protest site, said that the prime minister was asking the nation to support sportspersons and was himself ignoring the sexual crimes against women wrestlers.

“Why is the government protecting the BJP MP instead of punishing him? The Beti Bachao slogan of the BJP sounds hollow when you see sexual predators in the BJP ranks,” she was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

Aam Aadmi Party: Lending support to the protesters, Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said the Union sports minister should be “ashamed” for failing to provide a conducive environment for wrestlers to play.

“By now, he (Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) should have been in jail. Such serious allegations have been levelled against him, but even an FIR has not been registered in this case,” Bhardwaj was quoted by India Today.

Who is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh?

• Brij Bhushan, 66, is a BJP leader with a criminal history. His career as a Parliamentarian began when he entered the Lok Sabha in 1991.

• Brij Bhushan faces several charges, including attempt to murder, punishment for dacoity and causing disappearance of evidence. However, he has not been convicted in any one of these.

• A month before the wrestlers began their agitation in January, the BJP leader was acquitted by a MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district. He was freed of charges as no evidence was found in the 29-year old case related to the attack on a former UP minister in the Samajwadi Party government in 1993.

Brij Bhushan’s Controversies in Sports

• Singh, who was also named in the controversial Babri mosque demolition case, came to be known as a man of controversy in sports when he publicly slapped an athlete in Ranchi in 2021. A video dating December 2021 went viral on social media, however, he remained unapologetic.

• In another incident in 2021, he suspended a Railways coach for being “too animated” during the national championships in Noida.

• The next year, in August 2022, Brij Bhushan abruptly stopped the trials to select India’s representation in the 59 kg category for the World Wrestling Championship just 54 seconds after it had started.

• The reason that he gave was that a group of seers from Ayodhya, the chief guests at the event, was not invited to give blessings before starting the selection process.

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