Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia posted on Instagram on Friday, hours after the Delhi Police filed two First Information Reports (FIR) against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), stating that electricity had been cut off at the protest site.
Punia claimed that Delhi Police had put the barricades and cut off the food and water supply at Jantar Mantar, where India’s top wrestlers have been protesting against the sexual harassment claims made against Singh. In an Instagram live session, he informed his followers that wrestlers had been asked to stop their protests minutes after FIRs had been filed
Punia claimed to media representatives that the police are putting them under pressure following the Supreme Court notice to the Delhi Police, claiming that the ACP indicated they won’t allow food and drink in regardless of what.
“Police advised sleeping on the road if you wanted to protest. There was no such issue previously; the pressure from the Supreme Court is the only reason this has happened, he added. “What sort of pressure has arrived on them today?
The Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist reportedly accused the police of ‘beating up’ individuals tasked with delivering supplies to the protest location. No matter how severely the police administration tortures us, we will protest until justice is done, he declared.
Satyawart Kadian, a wrestler and the husband of Olympian Sakshi Malik, questioned why the police took so long to file the FIR in a statement to the news agency ANI. He demanded that the future of female wrestlers be safeguarded and that politics be kept out of the sport.
“It’s a good thing that a FIR was filed. What will we get from the FIR ? Can FIR bring us justice? The Delhi Police should have register a FIR on first day itself. Our battle on paper has only begun. Let’s hear from our legal counsel and coaches. We are requesting that politics and wrestling be kept apart and that the future of our female wrestlers be secured he told ANI.