Mon 26 June 2023:
New Delhi: Top wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia who had led the protest demanding action against the Wrestling Federation of India chief and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the light of severe sexual harassment allegations against him, have posted identical tweets saying that their fight will continue in the “court and not on the streets.”
The three had been the faces of a 38-day protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Police’s mistreatment of the wrestlers during their agitation had drawn international condemnnation.
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) June 25, 2023
“Based on what was talked about with the government on June 7, the government has fulfilled its promise of filing a charge sheet based on the complaints of sexual harassment and coercion filed by the women wrestlers. The Delhi Police completed its investigation and submitted the charge sheet with the court on June 15,” they wrote in Hindi.
The wresters’ fight in this case will continue in the court instead of the streets, till we get justice,” the statement said.
“When it comes to the WFI’s reforms, the promised election process has begun. We will wait for fulfilment of promises made by the government regarding the July 11 elections,” the statement also said.
On the same day when the three tweeted this, the Gauhati high court had stayed the WFI elections scheduled for July 11, while acting on a plea by the Assam Wrestling Association. It is unclear when the election will thus take place.
Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have both tweeted that they will take a break from social media.
Indian Express has reported that a day ago in a live address on social media, the trio, also comprising Punia, had attacked former wrestler and now BJP leader Yogeshwar Dutt for questioning the Indian Olympic Association ad-hoc panel’s decision to grant them exemption from Asian Games trials.
In the address, the three said that their fight against Singh will continue until he is arrested and “pays for his sins.”
-The Wire
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