India's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshee Malikkh, have threatened to throw their medals in the Ganga, alleging mistreatment by the Delhi Police and the Union government. The wrestlers have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding the arrest of WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they have accused of sexually exploiting women grapplers.
On May 28 – the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building amid much fanfare – the protesting wrestlers were detained by Delhi Police when they attempted to march towards the new Parliament building for women's 'Mahapanchayat'. Disturbing videos of police action against the elite wrestlers went viral on social media, drawing scathing criticism from the sporting fraternity and opposition parties. They were released late on Sunday night.
“Our medals are scared, and so is Mother Ganga. The right place for the sacred medals is the Ganga, and not with the State, which stands with the culprit,” the wrestlers wrote in a letter in Hindi, which they shared on social media.
They also accused the government of hounding the female wrestlers, who were the victims, instead of taking action against Singh. The letter also accused the government of treating them like “criminals”, while the “real criminal” is roaming freely.
They added that they thought of returning the medals to the President or the prime minister, but decided against it as the former, despite being a woman herself, is yet to speak a word on this matter, while the latter, who called them the nation's daughters once, never bothered to check with them on the hardships they were facing.
The wrestlers added that they will immerse the medals in the holy river at Haridwar at 6pm today, and that they will continue the hunger strike till death, at the India Gate.
Unprecedented scenes of police dragging Olympic and world championships medal-winning players, including Sakshee, Vinesh, Punia and Sangeeta Phogat, were witnessed when the wrestlers and their supporters breached the security cordon ahead of their march towards the new Parliament building on May 28.
India's first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra denounced the police action against the top wrestlers, saying the treatment meted out to the grapplers left him "sleepless" and he was "haunted" by the horrifying images.
Indian football legend and skipper Sunil Chhetri and World Cup-winning former India captain Kapil Dev, too, criticised the action against the wrestlers. "Why does it have to come down to our wrestlers being dragged around without any consideration? This isn't the way to treat anyone. I really hope this whole situation is assessed the way it should be," Chhetri tweeted.
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan, too, said a solution to the issue should be found immediately.