Wrestlers Protest: WFI polls by June 30; charge sheet in Brij Bhushan case by June 15, says Anurag Thakur

Fourty-five days after wrestlers returned to protest, government and sportspersons on Wednesday found common ground after the authorities pledged to file charge sheet on cases of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh by June 15.

The protesting international wrestlers agreed to suspend their agitation till June 15 but warned that they would resume the protest if they find the government renege on its word, which included a fair election to the federation by keeping away Singh and his associates from responsibilities.

The thaw came after an around six hour meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and wrestlers at the former’s official residence here, where they were also promised that the cases filed against the protesters would be withdrawn.

Read | Anurag Thakur-wrestlers meet: Sakshi Malik says, 'It's not over yet'; FIRs against wrestlers to be dropped

While Vinesh Phogat skipped the deliberations, international wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, her wrestler-husband Satyawart Kadiyan and Jitender Kinha attended the meeting, the second one after the one held by Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night.

The process for the second meeting was put in motion by Thakur through a tweet at 12:47 am on Wednesday expressing the government’s “willingness” to have another round of talks.

The protest, whose first round was held in January, had attracted international attention and the wrestlers were detained on May 28 when they tried to march to Parliament when its new building was being unveiled.

After the meeting, Thakur told reporters that the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere and a chargesheet on the cases against Singh would be filed in a court by June 15 and elections to the Wrestling Federation of India would be held by June 30.

The Internal Complaints Committee, which looks into sexual harassment complaints, of the WFI would be headed by a woman, he said, adding the government has accepted every demand of the wrestlers.

The Minister made it clear that the wrestlers had also demanded the withdrawal of cases against various academies and sportspersons and this too was accepted. The government also accepted that Singh or his associates would not be allowed to participate in the election to the federation, where "good office bearers" will be chosen.

On their part, wrestler Sakshi Malik said they would suspend the protest till June 15 but would resume it if their demands are not met.

"We were told that the police investigation will be complete by June 15. Until then, we have been asked to wait and suspend the protest. The Delhi police will also withdraw the FIRs filed against the wrestlers lodged on May 28," she added.

Punia as well as Sakshi said their protest has not been called off but suspended till June 15 as requested by the government.