Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik Lead the Movement
Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has witnessed a month-long sit-in protest led by the nation’s top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Mallik. The protest aims to draw attention to alleged instances of sexual assault involving the national federation chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. As the protest reaches its one-month mark, the wrestlers have organized a candlelight march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate, urging the public to participate and support their cause.
Highlighting the significance of public support, Bajrang Punia, an Olympic medalist, released a video urging sympathetic individuals who cannot physically participate in the march to light candles in their homes at 5 pm. He encouraged them to share videos of their support on social media, thereby extending solidarity with the wrestling community.
The wrestlers had set a deadline for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh, which expired on Sunday. In response to Singh’s controversial remarks regarding the value of medals, the wrestlers threatened to organize a ‘mahapanchayat’ (large gathering) outside the new Parliament building on its inauguration day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Today, the wrestlers received support from students and teaching staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who organized a protest march. Sakshi Mallik joined the gathering, and Aishe Ghosh, president of the JNU students’ union, stated that hundreds of students and teachers had shown solidarity with the wrestlers.
In a surprising turn of events, Brij Bhushan Singh, the accused chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, expressed his willingness to undergo a polygraph, or ‘lie detector,’ test. However, he conditioned his agreement on Phogat and Punia also undergoing the same test. Singh, who has consistently denied all allegations and claimed a “political conspiracy” against him, made this offer via a tweet.
The wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, responded by asserting their readiness to undergo the test under the supervision of the Supreme Court and insisted that it be broadcasted live. Phogat emphasized that all the girls who had lodged complaints were willing to undergo a narco test and urged that it be conducted live so that the nation becomes aware of the alleged mistreatment of the country’s daughters.
The Delhi police has also submitted a status report on the matter, furthering the developments surrounding the investigation.
The ongoing protest and demand for a lie detector test have garnered significant attention, shedding light on the alleged sexual assault cases within the wrestling community and raising questions about the accountability of those in positions of power. As the movement progresses, the wrestlers and their supporters remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice and systemic reform.
