They had been the primary ladies who introduced Olympic glory within the wrestling ring to India. But final week a number of of India’s prime feminine wrestlers threatened at hand again their medals, accusing the authorities of ignoring their allegations of sexual harassment in opposition to the game’s prime official.

For the previous 15 days, prime wrestlers together with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have staged a protest within the centre of Delhi, sacrificing their rigorous coaching schedules, sleeping within the rain and dealing with beatings by police.

Their demand is straightforward: the investigation and arrest of the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, who they allege has sexually harassed seven feminine wrestlers for greater than a decade.

Singh is a five-time MP with the ruling Bharatiya Janata social gathering (BJP), and the ladies accuse the federal government and police of blockading efforts for an investigation into his alleged crimes. Instead they are saying they’ve been punished and discredited for talking out.

Singh has denied the allegations, calling them “baseless” and a conspiracy to get him faraway from parliament. In an interview on Indian tv, he stated he had hugged one of many feminine wrestlers “in a fatherly manner”.

Phogat, who has gained wrestling medals on the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, stated the wrestlers had introduced the allegations of sexual harassment to our bodies together with the WFI and Indian Olympic Association, the ministry of sports activities and even the police, however no motion was taken. In a letter to the Indian Olympic Association, Phogat alleged she was “mentally harassed and tortured” by Singh.

Malik, the primary girl to win an Olympic medal for wrestling in 2016, stated: “We have tried at every level to raise this but we have been ignored and silenced and it has been very difficult.”

She stated a bunch of half a dozen junior feminine wrestlers in 2012 had tried to file a criticism of sexual harassment in opposition to Singh to police in Uttar Pradesh however “the case disappeared within 24 hours”.

In January, the group of girls went public with their allegations and started a protest within the capital.

After their preliminary protest, the ladies had been approached by the federal government. They say they had been promised by the minister of sport, Anurag Thakur, {that a} committee can be set as much as examine the allegations.

But no report has been launched within the months since, and Malik has alleged “a systematic attempt by the government to silence our complaints”. It was solely after the group went to the supreme courtroom final week that the Delhi police – who’re underneath central authorities authority – filed a case. None of the ladies have been referred to as in to provide proof.

“For the past three months, the government completely failed in protecting us,” stated Malik.

The ladies returned to their protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April, and have stated they won’t transfer till Singh is arrested. Thakur denied any cover-up and stated an investigation was ongoing.

The ladies accused authorities of “happily profiting” from their Olympic glory however “as soon as we ask for their help, they subject us to a mental and physical torture for speaking out.”

Last week, after the wrestlers and a few of their supporters on the protest web site alleged they had been abused and manhandled by police, Phogat, a bronze Olympic medallist, stated she was enthusiastic about handing again her medal. The police deny any violence in opposition to protesters.

The case has as soon as once more highlighted the problem ladies in India face in talking out over allegations of sexual harassment, notably in opposition to males who maintain positions of energy, typically discovering themselves subjected to a public smear marketing campaign or authorized motion. After the Indian journalist Priya Ramani and greater than 20 others had publicly accused a former minister of sexual assault in 2018 – allegations the ex-minster denied – Ramani was subjected to a two-year defamation lawsuit that she eventually won.

“We have staked everything that we have – our careers, our reputations, even our lives – in order to raise this issue,” stated Malik. “We are not raising this just for ourselves, it’s for all the girls who have faced harassment from powerful men and haven’t been able to speak out.”