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Protesting wrestlers warn of 'big call', stopped entry at IPL game
Police stop top wrestlers’ bid to use IPL game in Delhi to draw attention to their protest demanding the arrest of former federation president
With their 15-day ultimatum to authorities for arresting former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over alleged sexual harassment of wrestlers ending on Sunday, the protesting wrestlers said that “a big decision” could be taken as their next course of action.
The wrestlers held a press conference to announce that they were prepared to take those calls on Sunday. They said the calls will be taken after a 'mahapanchayat' in Mehem Chaubisi (a cluster of 24 villages) khap in Haryana's Rohtak district where community leaders, farmer organisations and labour groups will participate.
"We will go by what our elders suggest. In January during our first sit-in, we were fooled by the government's assurances, so we thought it wise to leave important decision-making to our elders. We trust them to decide the best for us," Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik said.
Asian Games and Commonwealth Games champion Vinesh Phogat said: “Soon our protest will complete a month. If Singh is not arrested soon, all the time and efforts of our supporters will go waste. It's not good for the nation."
BID TO ENTER IPL GAME
On Saturday, Phogat, Malik and Bajrang Punia attempted to attend the IPL game between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and use the occasion to draw attention to their fight, but were stopped at the gate and sent back by the Delhi Police.
The trio reached the venue around 4 pm. Though they held five tickets, the wrestlers alleged they were denied entry. The three top wrestlers were wearing white t-shirts with the slogan ‘I Support Wrestlers’ printed on it.
“All we wanted was to watch a game of cricket. We heard MS Dhoni was playing perhaps his last match in Delhi, so we thought of going and watching a great player in action. We had no protest signs, posters or banners but were still turned back. We want Dhoni to support us in this battle for justice. No active cricketer has spoken up yet," Punia said.
The wrestlers claimed police officials cited their celebrity status to not allow them into the stands and advised them to watch the match from the VIP box. "We don't think we are VIPs. We insisted we wanted to sit where we were entitled to. We wanted to watch the match as regular citizens," Phogat said.
"We were told we are celebrities and our presence will create a security issue. These celebrities have been sleeping on the footpath for about a month waiting to be heard. I don't think such things should occur in an independent country. We don't understand this behaviour by the police," Punia told the media.
The wrestlers went in their cars but had to take autorickshaws to return from the stadium. “They (police) told us not to go towards the parking, so we hired autos,” said Punia.
Delhi Police denied any wrestler with valid ticket was barred entry. A senior police officer told PTI that 10 to 12 wrestlers and their supporters wanted to watch the match and that only those without tickets or passes were not allowed. “Some social media handles are circulating misleading news regarding wrestlers being barred from watching IPL matches. No valid ticket or pass holder has been stopped at Ferozeshah Kotla ground, everyone has been given entry through their assigned gates," Delhi Police tweeted in Hindi.
The wrestlers will mark a month of the current sit-in at Jantar Mantar -- it began on April 23 – with a candlelight march to India Gate. It will be their third candlelight march, besides the three other marches they held this week. The wrestlers visited Rajghat on Thursday to pay their respect to Mahatma Gandhi. “We urge all citizens to join us (for the candlelight march)," Punia said.
The wrestlers' protest began with the demand for immediately registering FIRs and arresting Singh. The seven complainants, including a minor, petitioned the Supreme Court which directed Delhi Police to lodge FIRs.
Singh has been named in both FIRs and the police told the Delhi magistrate’s court that he has been questioned at least twice. The statements of the complainants have been recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC (admissible in court) and a Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the matter. The next court hearing is on May 27.
SAI sexual harassment
In Guwahati, a sexual harassment complaint has been filed with the police against the in-charge and swimming coach of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Centre in Solalgaon, Mrinal Basumatary, after he was accused by athletes. The complaint was lodged on Thursday owing to the “gravity of the matter” as most of the athletes are minor girls, PTI quoted a SAI statement as saying.
“As SAI adopts zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment cases, the same will be followed up so as to ensure that justice is delivered to our athletes,” the SAI release said.
