Indian wrestlers have been protesting since January after they accused the wrestling federation chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, of sexual harassment. Singh is a member of parliament from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has denied the allegations.

They should be practising for the Olympics scheduled for next year. But India’s ace wrestlers, led by Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, are fighting the battle of their lives against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven female wrestlers, including a minor.
May 30 was another day of high drama for the protesting grapplers, who vowed they would ‘immerse’ their medals in the Ganga river. It was only after a talk with Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait that they decided to defer their decision by five days.
The wrestlers have been protesting since January, demanding that the government take action against the WFI chief. Their protest has also seen them being dragged and pulled and being detained by the Delhi Police last Sunday when they attempted a silent march to new Parliament building.
The matter has gained the attention of the Supreme Court, which described the allegations as “serious” and ordered the police to register a case against Singh. And on Tuesday, the matter went international with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stepping in. An IOC spokesperson, responding to a query from The Indian Express said, “treatment meted out to the athletes over the weekend, when they were manhandled and detained for hours, was very disturbing.” “We urge that the safety and well-being of these athletes is duly considered throughout this process and that this investigation will be speedily concluded.”
The United World Wrestling (UWW) has also issued a statement condemning the detention of wrestlers during a march to the new Parliament building on Sunday. “UWW firmly condemns the treatment and detention of the wrestlers. It expresses its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations so far. UWW urges the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations,” the world wrestling body said in a statement. The recent complaint, though shocking, isn’t new for women in sports in India. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has recorded 45 complaints of sexual harassment between 2010 and 2020. Of these, 29 were filed against coaches.
In fact, this is the fifth instance in the last nine months where cases of women athletes being sexually exploited have been publicly and formally recorded in India.
In January, wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, accusing Singh and other national coaches of sexual harassment that took place over several years. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports took notice of these allegations and sought an explanation from the WFI. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was then informed, with a complaint letter being written by the wrestlers demanding Singh’s resignation as the president of the WFI. The working of the WFI was suspended till an oversight committee was formally appointed.
An oversight committee was formed by the IOA to conduct an enquiry into the allegations. The members of the committee were sporting heavyweights including boxer and former Rajya Sabha member M.C. Mary Kom, wrestler and politician Babita Phogat, and badminton player Trupti Murgunde.
Singh was to step aside till the inquiry was concluded. The protests, in that regard, were at least put off for the time being.
What recent developments led to the filing of FIRs against Singh?
With almost three months passing since the formation of the committee, it was announced that the WFI would be holding fresh elections, with Singh stating that he would not contest the president’s post. The waters got muddied when it turned out that the oversight committee had concluded its inquiry, but the sports ministry chose not to make the inquiry report public. This led to resumption of the protests at Jantar Mantar.
It had also come to light that several complaints (by a total of seven wrestlers, including one minor) were filed with the Delhi Police against Singh. It was alleged that Singh had sexually harassed and molested them during both national and international tournaments. For some reason, the Delhi Police did not register a single first information report (FIR) against Singh.
This led to the complainants approaching the Supreme Court with a petition seeking registration of the FIRs against Singh. The Supreme Court issued notice to the Delhi Police, terming the allegations as serious.
The Delhi Police, on April 29, after the Supreme Court had issued notice, registered two FIRs against Singh, with the FIRs being registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 as well as for provisions regarding outraging the modesty of women under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. On May 4, the Supreme Court closed proceedings in the matter, taking note that FIRs had been registered against Singh.
Investigation has commenced and the Delhi Police have recorded Singh’s statement. The Delhi Police have also informed a special court constituted to deal with the matter in Delhi that a special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to look into the matter, with the Delhi Police purportedly visiting four different states to collect evidence against Singh.
Singh, a five-time member of Parliament on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, for his part, has denied the allegations, going so far as to say that they are politically motivated and that he would hang himself if a single allegation was proved.
He, however, has a history of being accused of criminal activities, having faced as many as 38 criminal cases so far. He has previously been charged for multiple offences, including theft, kidnapping, criminal intimidation and even attempted murder.
What does all this mean, and what lies ahead?
“Earlier, they were saying that I had sexually abused 100 children. Then they started saying that it happened to 1,000 children. Did I eat roti made of Shilajit?” Singh told ABP News Channel during a recent televised interview, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
This is a parliamentarian, and a man who has been entrusted with running a national sports federation in our country. Whether guilty or not, he seems to be trivialising an issue as serious as sexual offences against children.
While the protests have been lauded, and rightly so, Indian athletes are severely handicapped when it comes to reporting such incidents against figures of authority. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported in February that as per the response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act, there had been 45 complaints of sexual misconduct against coaches and officials of the Sports Authority of India. From those, five coaches had suffered pay-cuts, one was suspended and later reinstated, and two had their contracts terminated. Most of India’s sports federations also do not have oversight committees, such as the one formed in the instant case, and which are also otherwise mandated by law.
A lot of our national sports federations are headed by powerful people such as Singh, and so it is no surprise that athletes tend to back off when it comes to pursuing complaints against such people in power— out of fear of potential repercussions on their career, which they have worked tirelessly to develop.
In the instant case, despite there being protests at a national and televised scale, things are moving at a snail’s pace, and it took intervention from the Supreme Court to get the Delhi Police to even file a complaint against the alleged perpetrator.
Political parties, especially the ruling party (the ones who appoint these goons as presidents of national sports federations) tend to turn a blind eye towards issues plaguing those sections of society who do not constitute a vote bank. Sports and our athletes have historically been neglected and made to suffer at the hands of people not fit to be in administrative positions within sports.
As this scandal unfolds, a lengthy battle awaits the wrestlers.
If Singh is found guilty, it shall serve as a wake-up call to the top brass to appoint competent people who care for the well-being of sports to run national sports federations, rather than random politicians who only want to abuse positions of power. If he is acquitted, however, going by his statements, he is going to continue to serve as president of the WFI, which I believe is only going to be one step forward and two steps back for the sport.

Khaps And Farmer Outfits Come Out In Support Of Wrestlers
Haryana‘s khaps and farmer organisations came out in support of protesting wrestlers and prevented them from immersing their medals in Ganga River.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Narseh Tikait reached Har ki Pauri at Haridwar on Tuesday, May 30, evening and intervened and prevented the protesting wrestlers from immersing their medals in Ganga River.
Throwing their weight behind the protesting wrestlers, Phogat Khap leader Balwant Nambardar had said, “We request them that these medals are the results of their hard work, sacrifices of their families and support from society. They should not take this step.
“It is unfortunate that those who represented the nation in top international tournaments are forced to take such decisions. The government should be ashamed and give justice to them in the case.”
Nambardar also said Haryana’s khaps and farmer organisations stood with the wrestlers in their struggle for justice.
“Charkhi Dadri is ready to spill its blood for them,” said Nambardar.
Haryana BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni had also requested the protesting wrestlers not to immerse their medals, saying the awards were part of national heritage and future generations would take inspiration from these.
Kandela Khap leader Ramphal Kandela had also appealed to the wrestlers not to immerse their medals.

Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat (born 25 August 1994) is an Indian wrestler. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games. She is the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships. Phogat became the first Indian athlete to be nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019.
Phogat comes from a successful family of wrestlers, with her cousins and being international wrestlers and Commonwealth Games medalists as well. She is one of the leaders of 2023 Indian wrestlers’ protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh.
Vinesh is the daughter of wrestler Rajpal Phogat and cousin of wrestlers Geeta and Babita. Both her cousins have won gold in 55 kg category in Commonwealth Games.

Sakshi Malik

Sakshi Malik (born 3 September 1992) is an Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Malik had previously won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha. She is one of the leaders of 2023 Indian wrestlers’ protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Malik was born at Mokhra village of Haryana’s Rohtak district to Sukhbir, a bus conductor with Delhi Transport Corporation, and Sudesh Malik, a supervisor at a local health clinic.

Bajrang Punia

Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is an Indian freestyle wrestler, who competes in the 65-kg weight category. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Punia won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov with a 8–0 margin. Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win 4 medals at the World Wrestling Championships. He is protesting at Delhi Jantar Mantar against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh.
Punia was born in Khudan, Jhajjar, Haryana, He began wrestling at the age of seven and was encouraged to pursue the sport by his father. Punia grew up in rural area. His family did not have money for traditional sports. Instead, he had to partake in free sports like Wrestling and Kabaddi Punia’s father was a wrestler as well and at a young age, his family enrolled him in a local mud wrestling school. Punia started to skip school to go to wrestling practice.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh (born 8 January 1957) is an Indian politician who is serving as Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the current president of the Wrestling Federation of India. His political career is marked by many controversies, as he was one of the prominent names who got arrested in the demolition of the Babri Masjid case and was also booked under the anti-terrorism law TADA for harboring shooters of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. However, he was later acquitted for lack of evidence.
He is currently at the center of the accusations of sexual harassment by India’s top female wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, in the ongoing wrestlers’ protest.
As per police records, 38 criminal cases were lodged against Brij Bhushan Singh between 1974 and 2007.