Police officers disrupted the protest at Jantar Mantar. They beat up the wrestlers, many of whom sustained serious injuries.

Vinesh Phogat said that the policeman was drunk and abused them. 

The brutality took place late at night just as the protestors were trying to bring in cots to the protest site. They were previously sleeping on the ground and had been affected by the heavy rains. 

Students from various organisations including Students Federation of India, All India Students Association, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, Krantikari Yuva Sangathan and others gathered at Delhi University in solidarity with the wrestlers. They were detained by the police and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was imposed.

Section 144 CrPC prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area.

The IOA’s report along with several media reports noted that the Wrestling Federation of India does not have an Internal Complaints Committee as mandated by the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act, 2013.

The National Human Rights Commission took suo-moto cognisance of these reports and issued a notice to 15 sports federations of India, including the WFI, asking them to submit a detailed report within 4 weeks, about the status and functioning of their ICC’s. 

https://theprint.in/ground-reports/bigger-than-olympics-wrestlers-brave-heat-mosquitoes-abuses-to-mount-nirbhaya-like-protest/1548310/

The IOA addressed a letter to the secretary general of the WFI, V.N. Prasood.The letter demanded handing over the official documents, including financials , to the ad-hoc panel formed by the Indian Olympic Association.

The ad-hoc panel constituted by the IOA took over the functioning of the WFI.

Three of the survivors (women wrestlers) who deposed in front of the IOA’s oversight committee against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said that the proceedings were unfair and made them feel uncomfortable.

This was reported by The Indian Express.

The committee refused their request to give their statements in front of only the women members of the committee. One of the complainants was told by a member of the committee that Singh was like a “father figure” , and that she had “misconstrued” his behavior “done in all innocence as inappropriate touching”.

The hearing was held at the Sports Authority of India building, in New Delhi. Staff members and a coach affiliated to the WFI and close to Singh were reportedly crowding outside the venue, resulting in intimidation of the complainants. 

“They (Oversight Committee) were trying to hurry us up. Like they wanted to hear what we said through one ear and let it out from the other and wanted us to wrap up fast. Even before a statement could be completed, we were being prompted to move on. They didn’t try to understand our emotional state and we didn’t feel comfortable speaking before the committee,” a wrestler said.

The complainants were also pushed to provide audio and video proof and the committee members reportedly told them that their hands were tied unless proof was provided. One of the committee members reportedly told one of the wrestlers to “return to training” because there was no point in appearing for the hearing.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had been publicly denying the sexual harassment allegations vehemently, was challenged by the wrestlers to take a lie-dectector test. Singh said, on May 21st, that he would take the test if wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia also took the test. The wrestlers accepted his challenge and said that the test can be live streamed. 

Women athletes from the All India Mahila Samskruthik Sanghathan (AIMSS) held a state-level convention at Bangalore to express their solidarity with the protesting wrestlers. 

The wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar called for a Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat near the new Parliament Building in New Delhi on May 28th. The Parliament building was being inaugurated on the same day.

The Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat, to be held near the new Parliament building in New Delhi, estimated 3200 persons in solidarity with the wrestlers from different women’s and farmer’s groups from across Delhi and neighbouring states.

50 protestors, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Sangeeta Phogat were detained by the Delhi police on their way to the Parliament building as they marched from the protest site in Jantar Mantar. 

Supporters including farmers and women's groups were detained from different locations while on their way to the site.The Delhi border was cordoned off. 

A temporary jail was proposed in the MC Primary Girls School in Old Bawana. The permission was revoked by the Delhi Mayor, Shelly Oberoi. 

Police were also deployed at the JNU Campus and students were prevented from exiting their gates. 

The protest site at Jantar Mantar was cleared while they were detained. There were warnings of arrest if they returned to the site. 

FIRs were filed against the wrestlers under sections relating to rioting and assaulting police officers. 

After their release, the protesting wrestlers announced their disappointment through a joint statement published on Twitter. The statement said that they wanted to return their medals but did not know whom to return them to. They outlined their reasoning for not returning them to the President, who was present at the Parliament inauguration and did not extend any support to them while they faced police violence. They did not want to return them to the Prime Minister, who in spite of calling them his daughters, had not extended any support to them and had further invited Brij Bhushan to the Parliament inauguration. They hence announced that they would immerse their medals in the river Ganga and asked the people of the nation to decide whether they wanted to stand with the State which was supporting their harasser or with them. 

At the same time, Brij Bhushan announced a rally on June 5, in association with Hindu sadhus and saints from across religious places in Uttar Pradesh, including Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi, etc. The rally was to take place in Ayodhya and the sants associated with the rally spoke about their demand to amend the POCSO Act as it had potential to be “misused”, especially against saints. 

The FIR against Brij Bhushan, besides sections 354, 354A and 354D of the IPC, has also been registered under Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (2012). An offence under  Section 10 of the POCSO Act is a cognizable and non-bailable offence, meaning that immediate arrest is the norm in such cases during the investigation stage, to protect the complainant. Bail is granted on the discretion of the court and not as a right. Section 10, POCSO leads to imprisonment of at least 5 years. When such an offence is committed by someone in a position of power or trust, it is considered an aggravated offence, leading to a harsher punishment. However, unlike most cases, no arrest was made yet in the case of Brij Bhushan, who was mobilising support for the amendement of the law which provides for the above recourse for the wrestlers, and publicly shaming the complainants.

Brij Bhushan later announced that the rally would be postponed indefinitely since the investigation was still going on. 

The wrestlers carried their medals to Haridwar, accompanied by supporters. There, they were convinced by Naresh Tikait, BKU leader, to refrain from immersing their medals. Tikait asked them to wait for 5 days. The next day, the wrestlers rejoined duty at the Indian Railways. Many media outlets published misleading news suggesting that they had gone back to work and stopped the protest. However, the wrestlers said that they had simply gone back to sign in and would continue the protest.

Details of the 2 FIRs filed by the 7 women were published by the Indian Express on their front page.  The details reported were as follows.

At least two instances of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; at least 15 incidents of sexual harassment that include 10 episodes of inappropriate touching, molestation that includes running hands over breasts, touching the navel; several instances of intimidation including stalking — and a shared sense of fear and trauma. 

Both the FIRs cite IPC Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 34 (common intention) that carry a jail term of one to three years. The first FIR covers the allegations of six adult wrestlers and also names WFI secretary Vinod Tomar. The second FIR is based on the complaint of a minor’s father and also invokes Section 10 of the POCSO Act which entails five to seven years of imprisonment. The incidents mentioned allegedly took place in India and overseas from 2012 to 2022.

The details of the FIR’s are as follows.

Wrestler 1

“One day while I was out for dinner in the hotel restaurant, the accused (Singh) called me separately to his dinner table…to my utter shock and surprise and without my consent, placed his hand on my breast and groped me and then slid his hand down to my stomach. To my disbelief, the accused (Singh) did not stop there and again moved his hand upwards to my breast. He groped my breast and then slid down his hand to my stomach and then back to my breast repeatedly for 3-4 times.”

In Singh’s WFI office, “he started touching me inappropriately on my palm, knee, thighs and shoulders without my consent. I started shivering at that very moment.” She added: “While we were sitting he was touching his legs against mine… touched my knees…He put his hand on my breast and slid it down my stomach on the pretext of examining/checking my breathing…his only “intention was to touch me inappropriately with the intent to outrage my modesty.”

Wrestler 2

“While I was lying down on the mat, the accused (Singh) came near me and to my shock and surprise leaned in and, in the absence of my coach, without seeking my permission pulled up my T-shirt, placed his hand on my breast and slid it down my stomach on the pretext of examining/checking my breathing”

“On my visit to the federation office… I was called into the room of the accused (Singh)… my brother, who was accompanying me, was categorically asked to stay back…The accused (Singh), upon the departure of other persons, closed the door… pulled me towards himself and tried making forceful physical contact with me”.

Wrestler 3

“He made me talk to my parents on the phone, since at that time I did not possess a personal mobile phone…the accused (Singh) called me towards his bed where he was sitting and then all of a sudden, he hugged me forcefully without my permission.”

“To further fulfil his sexual intentions, he also tried to bribe me by offering to buy me supplements which I may require as an athlete in exchange for sexual favours”.

Wrestler 4

“I was called by the accused (Singh) who pulled up my T-shirt and slid his hand down my stomach and put his hand on my navel on the pretext of checking my breath.”

“Since the accused (Singh) was always on the lookout to engage in inappropriate talk/gestures…girls, including myself collectively agreed to not go alone for breakfast, lunch or dinner”.

Wrestler 5

“While I was standing in the last row (for team photograph)… the accused (Singh) came and stood alongside me. I suddenly felt a hand on my buttock. I was stunned by the actions of the accused (Singh) while they were highly indecent and objectionable and without my consent… when I tried moving away, I was forcibly held by my shoulder.”

Wrestler 6

“On the pretext of getting a picture clicked with me, he pulled me towards him by my shoulder… to protect myself, I tried moving away from the accused (Singh)… Since I was not comfortable with the behaviour of the accused of forcing me, I, in order to escape, (his) clutches, repeatedly resisted his attempts and tried to push him away to which he (threatened): “Zyada smart bann rahi hai kya…aage koi competition nahi khelne kya tune?” (Acting too smart? You don’t want to be considered for tournaments in the future?)

Wrestler 7/The minor

“Holding her tightly, pretending to get a picture clicked, the accused (Singh) squeezed her towards himself, pressed hard on her shoulder and then deliberately…brushed his hands against her breasts”.

“She clearly told the accused (Singh) she had already told him that she was not interested in having any sort of physical relationship and that he should stop stalking her…”

The Indian Express reported that complaints by 3 of the 7 women, were corroborated by witnesses, including an Olympics wrestler, a Commonwealth medalist, an international referee, and a state-level coach. The Delhi Police recorded the statements of almost 200 witnesses. 

The wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Satyawart Kadian met the Home Minister.

After the disruption of the protest and amidst news of the wrestlers meeting with the Home Minister and Sports Minister, a conflict could be seen in the media narrative surrounding the events. Several leading news organisations reported on June 5 that Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia were returning to their jobs and ending the protest, without any clear sources. The wrestlers refused these claims vehemently. A similar confusion in the media narrative surrounded the minor and her complaints against Brij Bhushan.

Bajrang Punia was interviewed by NDTV where he said that the wrestlers had been asked to keep the previous meeting a secret, but they had shared the news with the media themselves. He shared, refuting media reports, that the protest had not ended after the meeting and that they had not received a satisfactory response in the meeting. After the interview, the wrestlers had received a second call for a meeting with the Home Minister and Union Sports Minister.

Meanwhile, The Indian Express reported that the minor had withdrawn her allegations against Singh and that she had recorded a new statement before a magistrate. The report cited unidentified persons. 

The next day, India Today and Times Now also reported the same. 

At the same time, The Hindu, The Print and the New Indian Express reported that the minor’s father had refuted these reports and had said that the news was fake. He was quoted as saying, “I have taken the decision to fight it out”. 

Lawyer Vrinda Grover said on June 6 to The News Minute, that in this case, the new statement will not be considered a withdrawal of the previous statement but that both will be examined by the court. 

The Hindu reported the minor’s father speaking about the fear felt by their family and that they had relocated from their home. 

"My daughter feels disheartened, it’s taxing, because everyday, we wake up to news that he continues to speak boldly, and all the girls have to live their life in constant fear. We’ve left the location we used to stay at because media has been questioning us concerning the age of the victim, we feel like it’s an unending battle, that we will have to fight, no matter what" - The minor complainant’s father said.

The wrestlers met with Anurag Thakur and arrived at an agreement. Thakur assured them that the investigation against Singh would be completed by June 15, 2023. The wrestlers agreed to hold off the protest until then and said that they will resume the protest after June 15 if action is not taken. The wrestlers made five demands to Anurag Thakur– 

1. They reiterated their call for Brij Bhushan to be arrested over the sexual harassment charges

2. They demanded that a woman should be the head of the WFI

3. Brij Bhushan or anyone from his family should not be a part of the WFI

4. They have called for free and fair elections to the WFI leadership

5. The FIRs registered against them for the May 28 march be withdrawn

The Hindustan Times quoted the minor's father saying that they had levelled false allegations against the WFI chief, and that they had done so out of anger because Singh had treated his daughter unfairly. The father of the minor, also the complainant, recorded a fresh statement denying the sexual harassment, and alleging discrimination.

“I changed my statement in court not because of greed but because I was scared... scared for my family, daughter and myself. Many lives have changed since we raised the allegations. I have to face the society and the people, I was threatened by people, whose names I can’t reveal, my family is living in intense fear. If anything happens to me or my daughter, how will we live?”, the father of the minor said to The Hindu

The Delhi police took wrestler Sangeeta Phogat to Brij Bhushan’s residence in Delhi to recreate the sequence of events that led to sexual harassment. They were there for half an hour. However, media reports spread misleading news which suggested that Sangeeta Phogat had gone there to reach a compromise with Brij Bhushan. Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia wrote against these rumours on twitter. 

“This is the power of Brij Bhushan. He is busy harassing women wrestlers by using his muscle power, political power and running false narratives. If the police arrests him instead of breaking us, there is hope of justice, otherwise no”, Vinesh wrote (in hindi). 

“Women wrestlers went to the crime site for police investigation but it was run in the media that they had gone to compromise. This is the power of Brijbhushan. He is troubling women wrestlers by running muscle power, political power and false narratives. His arrest is necessary. Police trying to break us,” Bajrang Punia’s tweet in Hindi said.

The Hindustan Times reported that 4 out 6 women wrestlers who had filed the FIR against Brij Bhushan had submitted audio and video proof for the sexual harassment they were faced. The police did not respond to questions about why the complainants were given only 24 hours to furnish this evidence.

The Delhi Police submitted its chargesheet against Brij Bhushan in Sections 354, 354D, 345A & 506 (1) of IPC. The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi listed the matter for further hearing on June 22, 2023. The charge sheet also named Vinod Tomar assistant secretary of the WFI (now suspended), for offences under sections 109 (abetment of any offence, if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 354, 354A and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

However, the Delhi Police recommended the cancellation of the charges filed under the POCSO Act, saying that they have not found any evidence corroborating the complaint. The POCSO complaint will be considered further in the Patiala House court on July 4th. 

The 550-page cancellation report stated that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had not sexually harassed the minor. It requested the court to withdraw the case citing a lack of evidence. The police stated that there was a confusion over the complainant's age and that they had received three separate birth certificates. They said that they did not find any witnesses, or any call records, to corroborate her claims. They also cited the retraction of the complaint by the minor and her father to support their recommendation.

Sakshi Malik commented on the cancellation report filed by the police against the minor’s complaint–  “In the POCSO case, if Brij Bhushan was arrested when the minor’s statement was (first) recorded before a magistrate, then the minor would not have withdrawn the complaint. And not only that, other girls would have also come forward and complained (about sexual harassment). There was pressure and threats is what I have heard. The court will have to decide what to do (with the statement).”

Rouse Avenue Court’s Chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) Mahima Rai Singh transferred the sexual harassment case filed by wrestlers against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, to Additional CMM Harjeet Singh Jaspal. The hearing, previously listed for June 22, was postponed to June 27th, 2023.

Yogeshwar Dutt (Olympic wrestler and BJP politician) posted a video on Twitter about the IOA’s decision to grant exemption to the six wrestlers for the trails to the World Championships and the Asian Games. On a video posted on Twitter, he asked whether the wrestlers had protested against the WFI to gain such favours. This comment reveals the magnitude of challenges experienced by the wrestlers who have dared to protest.

However, wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia denied having demanded any such favours and clarified that they had simply asked for some extra time to prepare for the trials since they had been involved in the protests for the past six months. 

Vinesh Phogat wrote a public statement about how Yogeshwar Dutt had been present in the committees which were hearing the women wrestlers complaints against WFI Chief Singh and had in fact laughed at them. 

The wrestlers made public the letter they had written to the Union Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur, asking for extra time (till August) to prepare for the trials. The letter mentioned Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, Satyawart Kadian, Sangeeta Phogat and Jeetender Kumar. 

Sakshi Malik also posted a statement on twitter saying that they were suspending the protest and that the fight for justice would continue in the courts instead of the streets. She also wrote that they awaited the government’s promises to bring reform in the WFI through the elections scheduled for July 11, 2023.

At the same time, the Guwahati High Court stayed the WFI elections while hearing a petition filed by the Assam Wrestling Association against the WFI. The AWA filed a petition contending that unless their body is affiliated to the WFI, and they can nominate their representative to the electoral college, the election process should be stalled. The court directed the respondents — WFI’s ad-hoc body and the Sports Ministry — that till the next date is fixed for hearing, they should not proceed with the elections of the Executive Committee of the WFI. The court fixed July 17 as the next date for hearing.

The Rouse Court in Delhi postponed the decision on whether to take cognisance of the chargesheet against Brij Bhushan for the second time, to July 1st. After a brief hearing, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal adjourned the matter. 

The Indian Express reported that the protesting wrestlers are now training hard for the upcoming trials, putting in 4-5 hours of training every day. They are reportedly grappling with whether to move abroad for their training or to remain in Sonepat. They fear that moving abroad will lead to a loss of momentum in the case.  The report, written by Mihir Vasavda said, “They are also wrestling with a dilemma – on one hand, they hope to move abroad so that they can continue training without many distractions but on the other, the wrestlers fear that if they leave the country, the case against Brij Bhushan could lose momentum. The wrestlers are also held back by other factors, with the availability of decent sparring partners and coaches at the training centre being their foremost concerns”

The hearing on the chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was postponed again to July 7th, 2023.

On the POCSO complaint against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Additional Sessions Judge Chhavi Kapoor issued notice to the complainant to respond to the cancellation report. The complainant has been directed to file their response to the police report by August 1, after which the matter will be heard further in court.

The Delhi Rouse Court took cognizance of the chargesheet filed against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar, asking them to appear in court on July 18th. 

The Delhi High Court allowed the minor to withdraw her allegations against Brij Bhushan under the POCSO complaint.

On July 18th, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Tomar appeared in Delhi’s Rouse Court. They were represented by advocate Rajiv Mohan, who argued that since the chargesheet had been filed before arrest, he was filing for bail. He also said that there is a parallel media trial against the accused, in response to which the court asked him to file an application for an in-camera trial. Atul Srivastava, the public prosecutor on the case, opposed the bail as Singh might influence the witnesses. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal granted Singh and Tomar interim bail for two days until the decision on the bail application is taken.

Several media outlets reported that Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have been exempted from selection trials and will be India’s direct entry to the Asian Games. One day prior, Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, a member of the ad-hoc committee formed by the IOA to take over the workings of the WFI stated in a directive for selection trials, that as per WFI regulations, the selection committee has already selected wrestlers for the 65 kg (freestyle) and 53 kg (women) categories for the Asian Games. The directive said the trials will take place for these categories nonetheless, and the selected players will be kept on stand-by. This is according to WFI regulations from before the dissolution of the federation which stated that the selection committee has the discretion to select ‘iconic players such as medallists of Olympics/World Championship’ without trials provided recommendation by chief coach or foreign expert.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and co-accused Vinod Tomar have been granted bail in the sexual harassment case filed against them by the women wrestlers. With bail bonds of ₹25,000 each, they have been granted bail by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on the condition that they cannot leave the country without the court’s permission and cannot by any means threaten or influence the complainants or witnesses. Sakshi Malik commented on the risks of this decision by the court–

“We went to the police station, we went to the Supreme Court, looking for justice. Today, we stand with no hope, a person accused of sexual harassment is given bail, where can women in the country go, if not to the courts?... They (women wrestlers) have heard stories of trauma, it will be difficult to explain to young girls to not be scared of anybody. If he can be let out on bail, where’s the legal process?”

Sakshi Malik also commented on the exemption from trial granted to Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, saying that they had not asked for this, and the government is attempting to break the unity of the wrestlers. She wrote on Twitter,

सरकार ने एशियन गेम्स में सीधे नाम भेजकर पहलवानों की एकता को तोड़ने का काम किया है. मैं न कभी बिना ट्रायल खेलने गई हूँ और न ही इसका समर्थन करती हूँ. सरकार की इस मंशा से विचलित हूँ. हमने ट्रायल्स की डेट आगे बढ़वाने की बात कही थी लेकिन सरकार ने हमारी झोली में यह बदनामी डाल दी है.