Wrestlers move SC, reject sports ministry overtures
NEW DELHI: Top wrestlers, including Olympic medallists and a minor, petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday for registration of a criminal case on their sexual harassment complaints against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) pres- ident and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, turning down the sports ministry’s call for negotiations.
Approaching the top court after their repeated attempts to convince Delhi Police to regis- ter a first information report (FIR) on their April 21 com- plaint didn’t yield results, the wrestlers mentioned their plea through senior advocate Nar- endra Hooda before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandra- chud for an urgent hearing. As the petition was not cleared by the registry for mentioning, the CJI asked Hooda to mention it before him on Tuesday after complying with the standard procedure.
“We want an FIR to be lodged and a fair probe conducted so that the matter reaches its logical legal conclusion. Clearly, the Delhi Police is under political pressure; if this was a regular case, the accused would have been arrested by now. The complainants include a minor, so a case under Pocso must also be registered,” Hooda said.
The petitioners, led by wrestler Vinesh Phogat, have told
the court they do not expect justice from the government or the police as Singh is a ruling party MP.
The petition has made the Delhi police chief and SHO of Connaught Place police station as respondents while seeking registration of an FIR on the complaints that stretch from 2012 till last year.
Addressing a press conference at Jantar Mantar on the second day of their sit-in protest, the wrestlers urged all political parties and khap panchayats to come out in their support. This marked a change from January when they had appealed to keep the protests apolitical.
“We have learned our lessons. Now we won’t deny any support coming our way, be it political or otherwise,” Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, Bajrang Punia, said.
“Whenever we come home after winning medals, all politicians line up for pictures with us. Why is the Prime Minister silent today? When we get medals, you stand with us for pictures. Now, when we are sleeping on pavements, where are you?” the 29-year-old said.
The Union sports ministry issued an order on Monday directing the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form a transitory or ad hoc committee to run the WFI and also prepare for fresh elections, annulling the federation’s earlier announcement that it would elect its new office-bearers on May 7.
Singh, who has completed three four-year terms, is ineligible to seek re-election as WFI president.