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Sexual abuse charges: Wrestlers' meeting with Anurag Thakur may continue today
Meeting will be held to discuss several points that remained undiscussed in otherwise fruitful discussion with Union sports minister Anurag Thakur.
The meeting between wrestlers and Union sports minister Anurag Thakur went on for nearly four hours till Friday morning. The athletes have been demanding resignation of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual misconduct. Although fruitful, several points remained undiscussed at the meeting, according to sources as quoted by news agency ANI. Reports suggest that Singh has been given 24 hours to step down from his position or he will be sacked.
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The Union minister has assured resolving the issue soon, however, the meeting is likely to continue today at his residence to discuss the remaining points. Earlier, Thakur returned to his Delhi residence from Chandigarh to meet with wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Mallikkh, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya, who levelled charges against WFI chief on grounds of sexual harassment and mismanagement.
The sportspersons launched their protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Wednesday which continued for the second day followed by the meeting with Thakur. The Union sports ministry asked the wresting body to respond to the charges, to which WFI is expected to submit its report by today afternoon. Meanwhile, Thakur urged the wrestlers to call off their agitation and wait till the report is submitted.
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Commonwealth champion Vinesh Phogat had previously accused Singh of harassing women and calling her a ‘khota sikka’ after her defeat at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia backed her allegations with “proof” and demanded the WFI chief's resignation.
(With ANI inputs)
