No ifs & buts! Sex harassment cases of wrestlers must be dealt with sternly

It was an unmatched sight; India’s top wrestlers, who have won medals at world championships and the Olympics, protested in the national capital, demanding the resignation of the powerful Wrestling Federation of India Chief (WFI) over sexual harassment allegations.

WFI President Brij Bhushan, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, has been accused of acting like a dictator and sexually harassing junior wrestlers. The chief no doubt has an unenviable profile. In the 1990s, he was charged under TADA for sheltering Dawood Ibrahim henchman Subhash Thakur and Jayendra Thakur and Paresh Desai but was later acquitted.

He has 4 cases pending against him as per the affidavit in the 2019 election, which includes an attempt to murder charge. It was extremely disturbing to see visuals in which a team of wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu and Sakshi Malik - came out in public and protested at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to draw the government’s attention. In a tearful speech, Phogat described how she had to struggle with thoughts of suicide.

Speaking up about sexual abuse takes great courage, and the wrestlers showed just that by publicly revealing years of alleged harassment by the BJP MP. Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya highlighted that the WFI President’s presence in the players’ hotel during the world junior championship in 2022 made the women wrestlers uncomfortable. So this is not something that can be conveniently pushed under the carpet. However, Singh —bitterly antagonistic— denied the allegations, claiming a larger conspiracy was at work to defame him. But the wrestlers did not back down.

Phogat told the media she has the voice recording of a woman wrestler who told her about the mental and physical torture she suffered. She also said that she knew about “10-20 girls” who have been “exploited in the national camp over the past 10 years.” Sexual abuse allegations are not new to Indian sports. There have been multiple instances where the state has backed the accused. Recently, a women’s coach alleged that former Hockey player Sandeep Singh, who is also a minister in the state government, had sexually abused her.

Over the years, there have been several incidents related to cricket, hockey, and athletics. We, the people of India, should never let this happen. Citizens should come out on the streets to protest and be the voice of the wrestlers who were exploited — sexually. The entire nation was behind them when they brought glory to India by winning medals on the world stage, and letting them down over these serious claims will be unjust and totally sinful.

A few days ago, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced that a five-member oversight committee, headed by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom, will investigate the charges against the WFI boss. However, the wrestlers posted identical tweets on the microblogging site, expressing their dismay. The minister had promised them that they will be consulted in the formation of the committee. They tweeted, “We were assured that we will be consulted before the formation of the oversight committee.