Protesting Wrestlers Halt Plan To Immerse Medals, Give 5-Day Ultimatum to Centre

The wrestlers were requested by farm leader Naresh Tikait to not immerse their medals in the Ganga.

Protesting wrestlers sitting at Har ki Pauri in Haridwar on Tuesday, 30 May.

(Photo: PTI)

Video Producer/Editor: Aparna Singh

Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia halted their plan to immerse their medals in the Ganga river in Haridwar on Tuesday, 30 May, and gave a five-day ultimatum to the Centre to arrest Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual assault allegations against him.

The wrestlers had arrived in Haridwar on Tuesday to immerse their medals in the Ganges. However, they were requested not to do so by farm leader Naresh Tikait.

This comes two days after the wrestlers were allegedly manhandled and detained at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar, during their march towards the new Parliament building.

Delhi Police filed an FIR against the protesting wrestlers on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, and others. The police also cleared the protest site.

A statement released by the wrestlers earlier in the day had said that they will immerse their medals in the Ganga river at 6 pm on Tuesday.

"These medals are our life and soul. We are going to immerse them in the Ganga. After that there is no point of living, so we will sit on a hunger strike until death at India Gate," the statement read.

'Whom To Return the Medals?'

In their statement, wrestlers said that they didn't know to whom they should return their medals.

"The President, who is a woman herself, sat barely two kilometres away and watched. She didn't say anything," they said. They further added that the prime minister, "who refers to us as daughters, did not even once show his concern."

"Instead, he invited the 'oppressor' (Brij Bhushan Singh) to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs in bright white clothes. This white was stinging us as if it was saying 'I am the system'," the letter added.

The wrestlers have been seeking action against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan over allegations of sexual harassment. The police had appeared reluctant to file an FIR against Singh until the matter reached the Supreme Court – after which they registered two FIRs.