The protesting wrestlers will not be allowed to sit on an indefinite hunger strike at India Gate in New Delhi, Delhi police sources said on Tuesday, reported news agency PTI. According to the officials, India Gate is a “national monument” and “not a site for demonstrations”. Reportedly, they also said that they would soon suggest alternative places for their dharna.
“They have not approached us till now with any such request. If they want to protest, they will have to submit a written communication to the DCP concerned, following which a call will be taken accordingly,” the Delhi Police officials said, as quoted by PTI.
Also read: Wrestlers protest: Delhi Police registers FIR over ‘rioting’, ‘unlawful assembly’
Earlier in the day, the country's top wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, who are protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations since April 23, said that they would immerse their medals in River Ganga at 6 pm on Tuesday and sit on a hunger strike "until death" at the India Gate.
In a statement, the wrestlers wrote, “These medals are our lives, our souls. There would be no reason to live after throwing them in the Ganga today. So, we will stage a hunger strike until death at India Gate after that.”
{{/usCountry}}In a statement, the wrestlers wrote, “These medals are our lives, our souls. There would be no reason to live after throwing them in the Ganga today. So, we will stage a hunger strike until death at India Gate after that.”
{{/usCountry}}They added that the “Prime Minister who calls us our daughters, did not even once show his concern.”
“Rather, he invited the 'oppressor' (Brij Bhushan) to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs in bright white clothes. We have been stained by this brightness,” the statement read.
On May 28- the same day when PM Modi inaugurated the new Parliament - the Delhi Police cleared the wrestlers' protest site at Jantar Mantar following a chaotic scene in the national capital. Several wrestlers were detained for “violating law and order” after they attempted to carry out a planned march towards the new Parliament building.