Wrestlers protest
'Arrest wrestling body chief by June 9 or...': Farmer leaders warn Centre
New Delhi/IBNS: Farmer leaders, who are supporting India's top athletes in their fight against wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, have given a fresh ultimatum to the Centre- arrest him or face a larger protest.
"We have taken a decision that the government must address the grievances of wrestlers and he (Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) should be arrested. Otherwise, we will go with the wrestlers to Jantar Mantar in Delhi on June 9 and hold panchayats across the nation," farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said.
"The cases against the wrestlers should be withdrawn and the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh must happen," Tikait said.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP, is accused of sexually harassing some of the top wrestlers. He has denied any wrongdoing but added that he is ready to step down if Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP asks him to.
Protesting ace wrestlers on May 30 shelved their plans to immerse their medals in Ganga at Haridwar after intervention from farmer leader Naresh Tikait.
The wrestlers earlier gave a five-day deadline for action against Singh.
Earlier in the day, members of India's 1983 Cricket World Cup winning team urged wrestlers not to take any extreme steps like throwing their medals in the Ganges.
"We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into the river Ganga," read the statement issued by the 1983 World Cup-winning team as quoted by the media.
The statement further said: "Those medals have involved years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit and are not only their own but the nation's pride and joy."
The Delhi Police have filed two FIRs (first information reports) based on the wrestlers' complaints. One of them is over allegations by a minor wrestler and has been filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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