India’s top female wrestlers, who have been accusing their federation boss, who is also an MP, of sexual harassment for six months, said they would continue their “fight” in court rather than resume protests.
“The wrestlers’ fight will continue in court and not on the streets until we get justice,” wrote a trio of athletes including Vinesh Phogat, one of the most decorated female wrestlers in the country’s history, and Sakshi Malik, Olympic bronze medalist in 2016, on social media on Sunday.
Olympic medalists and other female wrestling champions from India took part in a weeks-long sit-in in New Delhi, accusing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of engaging in fondling female wrestlers and soliciting sexual intercourse.
President of the WFI for around ten years, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is also a powerful member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On June 15, police charged Mr. Singh with sexual harassment. Mr Singh denies the accusations made by the sportswomen, saying he is “ready to be hanged” if a single wrestler is able to prove any sexual harassment, according to local press. For him, it is a “political vendetta”.
At the end of May, the wrestlers marched to the new seat of the Indian Parliament, at the time of its inauguration by Narendra Modi. Sakshi Malik, Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia and dozens of their supporters were then arrested and briefly detained, some charged with rioting.
Wrestling is hugely popular in rural northern India, and images of athletes being dragged and taken on buses have been making the rounds on TV and social media.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has promised that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will have no role in the Federation’s new leadership, which is due to be elected at the end of the month.
“As regards the reform of the WFI, the electoral process has, as promised, begun,” the wrestlers said in a joint message, adding that they would “wait for the promises made by the government to be fulfilled.”