New Delhi, Jan 21: The tussle between the agitating grapplers and the Wrestling Federation of India ended for the time being after the athletes called off their protest following assurances from the government, the first step of which was temporary sidelining under-fire WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya, decided to end their three-day long sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar here after a breakthrough was achieved during a marathon second round of talks with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur late on Friday night.
The government decided to form an oversight committee which will investigate the allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers by the WFI president. The committee, members of which are yet to be named, will also oversee the day-to-day affairs of the federation.
The ordeal ended with a late night joint press briefing by Thakur at his residence along with the aggrieved grapplers, where the minister announced the formation of the committee and said the panel will submit its report in a month’s time.
“It has been decided that an oversight committee will be formed, names for which will be announced tomorrow (Saturday). The committee will complete its investigation within four weeks. It will thoroughly probe all the allegations be it financial or sexual harassment that have been levelled against WFI and its chief,” Thakur said after the meeting that lasted close to five hours.
“Till the investigation is over, he (Singh) will step aside and co-operate with the investigation and the oversight committee will run the day-to-day affairs of WFI,” Thakur added.
On behalf of the wrestlers, Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia said they never wanted to take the protest route but they were “pushed to the limit”.
“The protest is over. We did not want to sit on dharna but paani sar se ooper chala gaya tha. The government has assured us safety and security, we have been threatened by the WFI president in the past also,” the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist said, adding that 2023 is a crucial year for them as the Asian Games and Olympic Qualifiers are approaching.
Neither the sports minister nor the wrestlers took questions from the media.
The wrestlers had earlier in the day said that they would lodge multiple FIRs against the WFI chief, but did not do so eventually.
It can be termed a considerable, if not major, victory for the agitating wrestlers, who had said that they would continue their ‘dharna’ until the WFI president is sacked and the federation is disbanded.
However, under the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) constitution a National Sports Federation (NSF) can’t be dissolved unless it has violated the IOA rules and regulations, or has been de-recognised by the world body of the sport.
It must be mentioned that the wrestlers have not yet provided strong evidence that suggests sexual harassment of women grapplers.
Earlier in the day, the wrestlers reached out to the IOA demanding a probe.
In their letter, addressed to IOA president PT Usha, the wrestlers alleged financial misappropriation (of funds) on the part of WFI and claimed that the coaches and sports science staff at the national camp are “absolutely incompetent”.
The wrestlers also reiterated their demand that the WFI be disbanded and its president sacked.
“A new committee should be formed to run the affairs of WFI in consultation with the wrestlers,” they wrote in their fourth and last demand.
Responding to it, the IOA formed a seven-member committee, headed by MC Mary Kom, to probe the charges.
The IOA panel includes wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, archer Dola Banerjee and Indian Weightlifting Federation president and IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav.
The committee also has two advocates – Talish Ray and Shlok Chandra – besides former shuttler and IOA joint secretary Alaknanda Ashok, who is its vice chairperson.
IOA president Usha has assured that a thorough investigation will be carried out by the panel to ensure justice. (PTI)
