Global Courant
NEW DELHI — India’s top wrestlers on Wednesday decided to suspend their protests after the country’s sports minister promised a swift investigation into their federation chief accused of sexually harassing female athletes.
The wrestlers had been camping in New Delhi since April to seek the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied the allegations.
Last month, the protest site was evacuated and several wrestlers were briefly detained as they continued to demand action against Singh, who is also a powerful politician and federal legislator.
Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia was part of the wrestling delegation that met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in his hometown on Wednesday, a meeting that lasted nearly six hours.
“The government has assured that they will complete the police investigation against Singh by June 15, so we have suspended the protest until then,” said Punia, who won the bronze medal in the men’s 65 kg freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics.
Mr Singh, a leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party and a six-time MP, has been accused of sexually assaulting seven female athletes, including a minor.
His lawyer rejected all of the wrestlers’ allegations and said Singh was cooperating with police in the investigation.
Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat and Mr.
“The moments when we were dragged and assaulted by the police were deeply humiliating for all wrestlers as we only want justice for seven female victims of sexual abuse,” said Punia.
The rumbling protest and police crackdown on the top athletes has drawn attention to the government’s staggered pace in handling a criminal complaint against a member of their political party.
