Wrestlers write to IOA chief PT Usha on sexual harassment complaints, WFI chief refuses to quit
- WFI chairman Brij Bhushan Saran Singh remained defiant and refused to step down as the WFI president
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Malikkh, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia who are protesting against the alleged sexual harassment of the women wrestlers allegedly by Wrestling Federation India (CFI) chairman Brij Bhushan Saran Singh on Friday wrote to PT Usha, President of the Indian Olympic Association. In the letter, the wrestlers accused Brij Bhushan Saran Singh of sexual harassment and financial irregularities.
The letter, demanding the resignation of the WFI chief, was signed by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Malikkh, Ravi Dahiya, and Deepak Punia. The wrestlers have also demanded the formation of an inquiry committee to probe the allegations of sexual harassment.
Meanwhile, WFI chairman Brij Bhushan Saran Singh remained defiant and refused to step down as the WFI president. He also said in a statement that if he opened his mouth, “it will cause a tsunami”. He also compared the protest with the Shaheen Bagh protests.
"The protest by wrestlers against me is the dharna of Shaheen Bagh," Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, who is also a sixth-time Lok Sabha MP from UP's Kaisarganj constituency, told reporters in his native place. Brij Bhushan Saran Singh also termed the protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar an attack on BJP and orchestrated by the Congress party.
On Thursday, 19 January, several ace wrestlers of the country including Phogat, Mallikkh and Bajrang Punia participated in the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, that began on Wednesday. Vinesh Phogat, in a press conference, had alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers by the WFI president and its coaches, demanding a complete overhaul of the federation.
She also alleged that she was called a “khota sikka” after her defeat at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Speaking on the sidelines of the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Vinesh Phogat said, “Coaches are harassing women and some coaches, who are favourites of the Federation, misbehave with women coaches as well. They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed many girls."
(With agency inputs)
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Business NewsNewsWrestlers write to IOA chief PT Usha on sexual harassment complaints, WFI chief refuses to quit
First Published:20 Jan 2023, 08:23 PM IST
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