Olympian wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in Delhi on Saturday, June 4, to discuss the matter related to their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The meeting was held four days after the wrestlers’ threatened to immerse their medals in the Ganga river and gave a five-day ultimatum for action against Brij Bhusan. "They shared their concern with the Home Minister. The meeting was long and he listened to everything. But koi decision nhi hua abhi tak (no decision has been reached so far)," a source close to the wrestlers told IANS.
Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh along with other top Indian wrestlers have been leading the wrestlers’ protests in Delhi since April, accusing the now-sidelined president of the WFI, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment against many wrestlers including a minor.
The protesting wrestlers were manhandled and detained by Delhi Police and their arrangements at the protest site were dismantled on May 28, while the new Parliament building was being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The wrestlers had then gone to Haridwar saying they would drop their medals won while representing India in various international sports competitions in the river Ganga if their demands weren’t met. With many people requesting them to not take this step, they decided to hand over the medals to farmer leaders — who led the 2020–2021 farmers' protests and have been supporting the wrestlers’ protests as well — to take a call. The wrestlers are expected to soon decide on where to resume their protest.
Watch: Wrestlers Protest against Brij Bhushan and absurd justifications of his supporters| Dhanya Rajendran