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Top India wrestlers protesting against sexual harassment detained

Wrestlers have been demonstrating for weeks for the arrest of their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations.

Phogat Malik Indian wrestlers protest
Indian wrestlers, from right, Bajrang Punia, Sangita Phogat and Vinesh Phogat talk ahead of their protest march towards the newly inaugurated parliament in New Delhi on May 28, 2023. [Shonal Ganguly/AP]
Published On 28 May 2023

Several wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, have been detained as they tried to march to India’s new parliament building in New Delhi to demand the arrest of their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations.

India’s top wrestlers have been holding a sit-in for more than a month at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the Indian capital. They planned Sunday’s march to coincide with the inauguration of the new parliament by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The wrestlers originally held demonstrations in January to demand action again Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied allegations of sexually harassing several female athletes.

The protest was withdrawn after Singh, also a member of parliament from Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, was stripped of all administrative powers by the sports ministry. The wrestlers resumed their protest on April 23 to demand Singh’s arrest.

“They broke the barricades and didn’t follow police directions,” senior Delhi Police officer Dependra Pathak told local media.

“They broke the law, and that’s why they were detained.”

Malik, who won the women’s 58kg freestyle bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, shared photos and video of the wrestlers being dragged away by police.

“This is how our champions are being treated. The world is watching us,” she tweeted.

Police women watch as India's top female wrestlers are detained by the police
Police during the protest at Jantar Mantar, an area near the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
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Sakshi Malik, in blue, an Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics,
Sakshi Malik, in blue, an Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, is detained by police. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
Student activists who had come to support of protesting wrestlers are detained by the police
Student activists who came to support the wrestlers, are detained. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
Supporters of India's top female wrestlers shout slogans from a bus after they were detained
Supporters of India's top female wrestlers shout slogans from a bus after they were detained by police. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
Student activists who had come to support of protesting wrestlers are detained by the police
Protests by the wrestlers demanding action against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India, whom they accuse of sexual harassment, were held in January, and they restarted on April 23. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
Activists who had come to support of protesting wrestlers are detained by the police
Security in the Indian capital was tightened ahead of the inauguration of the new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
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An activist who had come to support protesting wrestlers shouts slogans as she is detained by the police
An activist supporting protesting wrestlers shouts from a police bus after being detained. Female athletes have long complained of sexual harassment in their sports although they have been reluctant to speak out publicly. [Altaf Qadri/AP]