New Delhi: Protesting wrestlers upped the ante against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Wednesday.
Vinesh Phogat requested leading industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata to check whether the funds he has donated to the federation reached athletes or not, while Sakshi Malik challenged Brij Bhushan to undergo a lie detector Narco Test to prove his innocence, PTI reported.
Some of the country’s leading grapplers have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for weeks, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan for alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of seven female wrestlers.
Watch Vinesh’s plea in the the video clip posted on Twitter by PTI:
VIDEO | “I request Ratan Tata to check whether the funds that he donates to the wrestling federation reach the athletes or not,” says protesting wrestler Vinesh Phogat at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. pic.twitter.com/9ab8NPcWrW
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 10, 2023
Sakshi threw an open challenge to the WFI president, who has repeatedly said that wrestlers are pressing false charges against him.
“I challenge the WFI president to take a Narco Test. We are also willing to take the test. Let the truth come out in the open — who is the culprit and who is not,” Sakshi said at a press conference at the protest site.
Bajrang Punia, who has stood solidly behind the female wrestlers throughout their protest in January and now, said they will oppose holding of competitions if Brij Bhushan is involved in organisation of meets.
“We want all competitions to take place under the ad-hoc panel of IOA. If WFI chief is involved in any way, we will oppose it,” said Olympic medallist Punia.
The wrestlers have decided to wear black armbands on Thursday to protest the slow pace of investigation against Brij Bhushan.
A Delhi court today sought a status report from Delhi Police over the FIRs registered against Brij Bhushan – who is also a BJP MP – on April 28.
