 "Have police revoked security for wrestlers testifying against Brij Bhusan?")
Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, through their post on X (Formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday, claimed that Delhi Police had revoked the security from the female wrestlers who were going to testify against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Saran Singh in the court on August 23. The Delhi Police has denied the charge.
Vinesh, in her post, wrote, “Delhi Police has withdrawn the security of the women wrestlers who are going to testify against Brij Bhushan in the court.” (Translated from Hindi). She also tagged the Delhi Police and the National Commission for Women (NCW) in her post.
However, the DCP of Delhi Police has refuted the claims made by the wrestlers through a post on X saying that they decided to request Haryana Police to take over the responsibility but the message was misunderstood by Delhi Police PSOs (personal security officers) leading to the confusion.
“The security provided to the wrestlers hasn't been withdrawn; it was decided to request Haryana Police to take over the responsibility in the future, since the protectees normally reside there. The assigned Delhi Police PSOs misunderstood this decision and got delayed in reporting today. The situation has been rectified. Security cover continues,” the DCP Delhi Police said.
Vinesh Phogat who was disqualified from the gold medal bout in the women’s 50 kg freestyle event in the 2024 Paris Olympics returned to India after the hearing of her application for a joint silver medal by CAS. Upon her return, Vinesh said that her fight against WFI will continue until justice is served.
Notably, the Chief Judicial Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot of a Delhi Court ordered the Delhi Police to reinstate the security cover of all three female wrestlers with immediate effect on Thursday. She passed the judgement after hearing applications filed by senior advocate Rebecca John who mentioned in her application that the security cover of three female wrestlers set to testify against BJP MP and WFI chief Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh was revoked on Wednesday night.
In 2023, Vinesh along with Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia led the protest against Brij Bhusan and some coaches of WFI, alleging that they sexually harassed multiple young female wrestlers. The protest led to Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) president PT Usha forming a committee to investigate the case. The WFI denied all the allegations made against them to the committee that consisted of athletes like MC Mary Kom, Yogeshwar Datt, among others.