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Wrestlers’ protest: Trust police probe, says Anurag Thakur; Tikait calls khap meet today

A DAY after the wrestlers took their protest to Haridwar — where they threatened to ‘immerse’ their medals in the Ganga, but relented after the intervention of farm leaders — Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday urged them to “trust” the Delhi Police investigation and “be patient” till its conclusion.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national president Naresh Tikait, who rushed to Haridwar on Tuesday and persuaded the wrestlers to defer the immersion of their medals for five days, called a meeting of khap leaders at Sauram village in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday. He said leaders of 30-35 khaps from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Punjab are expected to attend the mahapanchayat.

Protesting wrestlers sit at Har ki Pauri, in Haridwar district. (PTI)

Tikait’s call is learnt to have triggered disquiet in a section of leaders from Western UP, who fear that it may fuel the spread of protests in the region.

The protests have largely been confined to and Haryana so far.

“Our only demand is that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh should be arrested first. We will discuss other issues later,” Tikait told.

Brij Bhushan, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and a BJP MP from UP, has been accused of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation by seven female wrestlers, including a minor. He has been named in two FIRs registered by the Delhi Police on April 28, including one under the POCSO Act pertaining to the allegations of the minor wrestler.

Sangeeta Phogat and Vinesh Phogat being detained by police. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)

According to a PTI report from Barabanki, Brij Bhushan reiterated on Wednesday that the charges against him were false. “I am once again saying that if even if a single allegation is proved against me, I will hang myself… If you have proof, give it to the court, and if the court hangs me, I will accept it,” he said.

Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Sports Minister Thakur said the wrestlers should wait for the Delhi Police to conclude its investigation. “My dear athletes, you should trust the investigation being carried out by the Delhi Police… I urge the wrestlers to be patient till the outcome of the investigation. I also urge them not to take any step that could undermine sports or hurt any sportsperson,” he said.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat and Bajrang Punia with supporters during their protest march towards new Parliament building, in New Delhi, Sunday, May 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Delhi Police officers said a status report was being filed, and would be submitted in court in the next few weeks.

Following Tikait’s call for a mahapanchayat, some BJP leaders from the region, including the head of the party’s western UP unit, are learnt to have reached the capital and met a Union minister. A BJP leader from western UP is also learnt to have spoken to a senior Haryana BJP leader and requested him to take up the issue with the central leadership.

On Tuesday, BJP Hisar MP Brijendra Singh voiced support for the protesting wrestlers. “I feel the pain and helplessness of our wrestlers forcing them to the brink of throwing away their lifetime of hardwork- the medals from Olympics, CWGs, Asian Games in the holy Ganga. Absolutely heartbreaking,” he tweeted. Earlier also, he had raised the issue.

Sakshi Malik, in blue, an Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is detained by the police during a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar. (PTI)

On Wednesday too, a Union minister from the region was learnt to have called up the wrestlers and urged them not to ‘immerse’ their medals in the Ganga. It was after his phone call, and Tikait’s appeal, that the wrestlers reversed their decision.

A section of BJP leaders from Haryana is also worried about the political fallout of the protest in the Assembly and polls next year. “These wrestlers are among our biggest personalities. If they are forced to protest to get justice, it is very unfortunate,” said a party leader from Haryana.

Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia. (Photo: Praveen Khanna)

“They are active sportspersons, not retired athletes. They cannot be part of shallow politics… This issue should have been dealt with more sensitively,” said the BJP leader.