WFI President Brij Bhushan to ‘step aside’ till probe is completed; Wrestlers protest called off . See top updates here

Wrestling Federation President Brij Bhushan Singh will step aside till the completion of the probe by the oversight committee and he will join the probe, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced on 21 January.

He announced the constitution of an oversight committee to probe the allegations levelled against the WFI and added that till the completion of the inquiry, a committee will look after the day-to-day activities of WFI. 

The sports minister held a press conference at his residence in the national capital during the early hours of Saturday. He was accompanied by wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya and several others.

The protest by wrestlers, including Olympic and Commonwealth Games (CWG) medalists, was held in Delhi, as women wrestlers levelled serious charges of sexual harassment by the president and coaches of the WFI and of mismanagement in the functioning of the federation.

Here are the top updates:

After the announcement by the minister, the Wrestlers' who were protesting at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital have called off the protest. 

While talking to reporters, Anurag Thakur assured that justice would prevail in four weeks. "Considering the demands of the sportspersons, we have decided to constitute an oversight committee, whose names will be announced tomorrow. The investigation will be completed in the next four weeks, wherein all the allegations levelled will be thoroughly probed to take a final decision." he said while addressing a press conference during the early hours of Saturday.

He also said that the players kept their demands and a detailed discussion about it took place. "We had issued a notice to the Wrestling Federation of India when the allegations were levelled and asked them to respond within 72 hours, and they did. Similarly, we seek their timely support and cooperation so that the matter can be resolved soon," he added.

Extending gratitude, wrestler Bajrang Punia said, "The Union Sports Minister listened to our demands and has assured us that a proper investigation will be done. I thank him and we are hopeful that a fair probe will be done, hence we are calling off the protest."

Earlier, in a letter signed signed by several prominent grapplers contends wrote, “Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by the WFI President after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. She almost contemplated suicide."

The letter also claimed that the coaches and sports science staff assigned to the national camp by the WFI president was "absolutely incompetent and not on merit .

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had refuted the allegations and claimed he would expose the 'political conspiracy' in a press conference in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda yesterday.

He said that he starts to speak ‘it will cause a tsunami’. Singh also compared the wrestlers' protest with Shaheen Bagh protests

On Friday, his son Prateek said that his father Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will issue a statement on allegations of sexual harassment against him after the sports body's Annual General Meeting on 22 January.

Yesterday, IOA president Usha has assured that a thorough investigation will be carried out by the panel to ensure justice.

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer and now a Congress leader Vijender Singh also visited the protest site at Jantar Mantar, showing solidarity with the wrestlers. 

(With inputs from agencies)