- Charges Filed Against Wrestling Federation Head
- Extensive Investigation and Detentions
- Protest Outcome and Promised Investigation Conclusion
Following complaints from female wrestlers, the Indian police on Thursday lodged sexual harassment and criminal intimidation charges against the head of the country’s wrestling federation, a powerful member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Atul Srivastav, the prosecutor, read the allegations during a court hearing in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
A police source reported last week that more than 155 individuals have been questioned in connection with the investigations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament from the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The investigations came after months of complaints from the nation’s best wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medalists.
In an interview with local media on Wednesday, Singh denied all allegations against him.
In April, the wrestlers launched a sit-in protest against the lack of action and were briefly detained by New Delhi police as they vacated the site the following month.
Images of athletes being hauled away and transported in buses went viral, eliciting criticism from prominent athletes and opposition politicians.
Before agreeing to meet with Home (Interior) Minister Amit Shah and then the sports minister. The wrestlers threatened to cast their medals into India’s holiest river, the Ganges.
The wrestlers suspended their protest after Sports Minister Anurag Thakur promised to conclude the investigation into Singh by June 15.
