New Delhi: Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has accused the Delhi Police of cutting electricity and blocking food and water supplies at Jantar Mantar where wrestlers have been protesting.
The ongoing protests by wrestlers in Delhi have been gaining widespread attention, as several top athletes are demanding justice after making allegations of sexual assault and criminal intimidation against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
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The Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Singh on Friday night, but the wrestlers claim they have been mistreated ever since.
Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has accused the Delhi Police of cutting electricity at the Jantar Mantar protest site and blocking ration supplies for the wrestlers.
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He took to Instagram to share a video with his followers, in which he alleged that the police were putting pressure on the wrestlers to end the protest after the FIRs were filed against Singh. Punia claimed that the ACP had said, “Do whatever you can, we won’t let water or food in.”
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Punia further alleged that the police were torturing the wrestlers, saying that there was no power cut at the protest site before.
He questioned who was putting pressure on the police to mistreat the protesters and vowed to continue protesting until Singh is arrested.
Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, two of the leading faces of the protests, have called the FIRs against Singh their “first step towards victory.”
However, wrestler Satyawart Kadian, who is Malik’s husband, questioned whether the FIRs would be enough for the victims to get justice in the case.
He stated that the Delhi Police should have acted much earlier and registered FIRs much earlier, and insisted that the wrestlers would continue to protest until justice is served.
The protests have gained the support of several notable figures, including former Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev, who expressed his solidarity with the wrestlers and called on the government to take immediate action to address the issue.
The protests have also reignited the debate around sexual harassment and assault in sports, and have led to calls for better protection and support for athletes who come forward with such allegations.