'Stepping back not an option': Wrestlers to approach court in fight against WFI president Brij Bhushan

India’s top wrestlers, including Olympic medallists, have decided that if findings by the oversight committee, probing sexual harassment allegations against WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh, are not made public, they will have no choice but to approach the court.

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat said that she has ‘lost faith’ in the oversight committee, which was set up in January, to probe sexual harassment allegations against Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Singh, who is also a Member of Parliament.

The committee set up in January, was to probe the sexual harassment allegations against WFI president and other coaches, and submit a report on its findings to the sports ministry within a month. However, the deadline has long passed and the findings have not been made public yet.

Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia, who was also a part of the January sit-in protest, has revealed that repeated calls and emails by Vinesh Phogat and him, to the oversight committee head MC Mary Kom and sports minister Anurag Thakur have gone unanswered.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Vinesh voiced her concerns, ‘We tried to speak to sports minister Anurag Thakur, but there was no response from him. I tried two to three times, Bajrang did too. We tried calling members of the committee, including its head Mary Kom. But she did not take our calls. We don’t know who will give us justice?’

Phogat further added that if the testimonies given by female wrestlers are not taken into consideration and findings of the committee are not made public, they will have no choice but to approach the court.

'We are left with no other option but to approach the court in our fight for justice. Stepping back is not an option now,' Vinesh said.

Top wrestlers of India, including Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, staged a sit-in protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in January this year alleging that WFI’s president and other coaches were involved in sexual harassment of female wrestlers for years.

As the protests gained traction, the sports ministry set up an oversight committee to probe the allegations as well as oversee workings of the federation for a month till the findings were complete and the WFI president stepped aside.

Boxing champion MC Mary Kom was appointed as head of the oversight committee, which also comprised of Olympic medallist-wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player and Mission Olympic Cell member Trupti Murgunde, former CEO of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme Rajesh Rajagopalan, and former Sports Authority of India executive director (teams) Radhica Sreeman.