Several of India’s top wrestlers had gone public with accusations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in January this year.
Seven women wrestlers filed a sexual harassment complaint against Singh, but claim that no FIR has been filed or action been taken yet.
An FIR will be registered after concrete evidence comes to light, a senior cop said.
In January, the sports ministry formed a five-member committee, which was headed by Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom, to investigate the complaints.
The committee had been instructed to submit its findings within a month.
The government panel submitted its report in the first week of April, but the ministry is yet to make its findings public. However, sources said the wrestlers could not prove the sexual harassment allegations against the WFI boss after several hearings.
The elite wrestlers had said they weren’t satisfied and ‘won’t wrestle another day’ till their demands were met.
The wrestlers are also alleging mismanagement in the functioning of the federation, and have asked for complete overhaul of the federation.
They have now approached the Supreme Court seeking a fair probe. Protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, they plan to remain at the protest site till police file an FIR in the case.
The January protest was called off after assurances from the sports ministry, but the wrestlers believe they were misled by ‘false assurances.’
Wrestler Sakshi Malik expressed frustration over the report on the issue by the panel not being made public yet.
‘We will not believe anyone blindly. Last time we were misled. We hope this time there is no politics in this case,’ said Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
‘We will sit here day and night. Till the time we don’t get justice. We will sit here,’ Ms Phogat said, after spending the night on the footpath.
‘We want the report, which has recorded women wrestlers’ statements, to be public. It’s a sensitive issue, one of the complainants is a minor girl,’ she said, adding that the names of the complainants must not be leaked.
The Indian Olympic Association has now announced the constitution of an ad-hoc committee to conduct elections of the Executive Committee of the Wrestling Federation of India within 45 days of its formation and to manage the day-to-day affairs of the body.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has said that he will not contest for the President’s post in the federation’s election on May 7 but hinted that he might look for a new role.
Singh has served three terms already and is ineligible to contest for the top post again, after 12 years at the top.