Hours after detaining several of the protesting athletes, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, and tearing down makeshift tents at the protest site, the Delhi Police on Sunday charged the protest’s organisers with rioting and unlawful assembly.
According to the authorities, 700 persons were taken into custody around the national capital. The three wrestlers were among the 109 protestors who were held at Jantar Mantar. Later in the evening, prisoners who were women were freed.
“It took the Delhi Police seven days to file a police report (FIR) against Brij Bhushan, who had sexually attacked him, but it took the police not even seven hours to file a police report (FIR) against us for peacefully demonstrating. Has our nation begun to experience a dictatorship? Sakshi Malik, a wrestler, wrote that “the world is observing how the government is treating its athletes.
Vinesh said that despite the wrestlers’ desire to peacefully protest, they were being held. “Today is the official opening of the new Parliament building, a symbol of democracy. It is disappointing that we cannot organise a peaceful protest march on the same day. The democratic system is dying, she said.
Malik tweeted when she was freed that they will keep protesting at Jantar Mantar. “Our fight is far from over. The demonstration will restart in Jantar Mantar, she tweeted.
Wrestlers were pushed, shoved and detained by Delhi police just two kilometres from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the new Parliament building on the grounds that they had violated the security perimeter while attempting to enter the structure for a planned women’s ‘Mahapanchayat’.
The opposition condemns the’manhandling’ of the wrestlers
On April 23, wrestlers resumed their protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, calling for his arrest for allegedly sexually harassing a number of female wrestlers, including a minor. The central government was criticised by opposition parties for “manhandling” the wrestlers.
Rahul Gandhi, a former leader of the Congress, said that now that the “coronation” has ended, the “arrogant king is crushing the voice of the people” on the streets, while Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, said it is “shameful our champions are treated in this manner.”
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the BJP government’s “arrogance” has grown so much that it is “mercilessly trampling” upon the voices of our female athletes under its boots. This came as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attacked the government over the “forcible” removal and “manhandling” of wrestlers protesting at the Jantar Mantar as they attempted to march towards Parliament.
The party asked for a Supreme Court-supervised investigation into the wrestlers’ accusations.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, also denounced the police’s imprisonment of wrestlers. “Such treatment to the sportsperson who brought laurels to the country is grossly wrong and condemnable,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress and governor of West Bengal, sharply denounced the manner the Delhi Police “manhandled” Malik, Phogat, and other wrestlers.
“It’s disgraceful how our champions are handled. The foundation of democracy is tolerance, yet authoritarian forces profit from intolerance and the suppression of opposition. I demand that the police release them right now. I support our wrestlers, she said.
The wrestlers, who have been protesting in front of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, are calling for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh, the president of the Indian Wrestling Federation, who they claim sexually assaulted a number of female wrestlers. The Congress is one opposition party that has offered its support to the wrestlers who are protesting.