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Watch | Wrestlers’ appeal to public as protest marks a month: ‘Light candles at homes’
The sit-in protest by the country’s top wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Mallik at Delhi's Jantar Mantar marks a month on Tuesday.
Wrestlers protesting in Delhi against instances of alleged sexual assault by national federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have called for a candlelight march this evening from Jantar Mantar in the national capital to India Gate. The second phase of the protest - led by three of the country's elite wrestlers, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Mallik - marks one month today.
On May 19, the wrestlers marched from Jantar Mantar to the city's Bangla Sahib Gurudwara.
Punia, an Olympic medalist, tweeted a video clip urging sympathetic members of the public to show support by participating in the march. "Those who cannot physically participate must light candles in their homes at 5 pm and share videos on social media to extend their support."
Sunday marked the end of the deadline given by wrestlers for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh.
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This was after they warned of a 'mahahapanchayat' outside the new Parliament building next week - on the day it will be inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi.
Earlier today the wrestlers were backed by students and teaching staff from Jawaharlal Nehru University, who took out a protest march that was joined by Malik. Aishe Ghosh, president of the JNU students' union, said, "... hundreds of students and teachers joined the solidarity gathering..."
'Lie detector' test
Brij Bhushan Singh - the Wrestling Federation of India chief accused of sexually harassing seven athletes, including a minor - declared Sunday his willingness to take a polygraph, or 'lie detector' test, so long as the same test is conducted on protesting wrestlers, including Phogat and Punia.
Singh - a Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh - who has repeatedly denied all charges and claimed a 'political conspiracy' against him, tweeted: "I am ready for a narco test, polygraph test or lie detector test if the same test of Phogat and Punia is also conducted..."
The WFI chief's declaration prompted a fierce pushback from the wrestlers, who said they too were ready for such a test so long as it is supervised by the Supreme Court and broadcast live.
Phogat - a Commonwealth Games medalist - said, "I would like to tell Brij Bhushan that not only Vinesh, all the girls who have given the complaint, are ready to undergo the Narco test. It should be done live so that the entire country knows about his cruelty to the country's daughters."
Delhi Police has filed a status report on the wrestlers' complaint of sexual assault against Singh and a Special Investigation Team has been formed to investigate the matter.
