Two Olympic medallists had been detained throughout a march to the brand new parliament, alleging sexual harassment by a BJP MP.

Several of India’s prime wrestlers, together with Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, have been detained whereas making an attempt to march to the brand new parliament constructing in New Delhi as they intensify their protest demanding the arrest of their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations.

The wrestlers detained on Sunday have been protesting within the capital for a month over the dearth of motion in opposition to Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament belonging to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The protesting athletes have demanded his “immediate arrest” and sought the intervention of the Supreme Court, which directed the police to register a case in opposition to the 66-year-old. The MP has been accused of harassing a number of feminine athletes whereas main the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and has denied all of the allegations.

Protest throughout parliament inauguration

The wrestlers tried to march to India’s new parliament constructing as Modi was inaugurating it, however they had been stopped by lots of of law enforcement officials. Among these detained and hauled away in buses had been Olympic bronze medallists Malik and Punia.

The two wrestlers are nationwide heroes in a rustic that has lengthy yearned for principally elusive Olympic success. Modi congratulated them when Malik gained her medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and Punia gained his on the 2020 Tokyo Games. Now, the wrestlers are accusing the Modi authorities of ignoring complaints which might be embarrassing for the prime minister, who has portrayed himself as a champion of ladies’s rights.

“They broke the barricades and didn’t follow police directions,” senior Delhi Police officer Dependra Pathak informed native media, talking of the wrestlers. “They broke the law, and that’s why they were detained.”

Malik, who medalled within the girls’s 58kg freestyle occasion, shared photographs and video of the wrestlers being dragged away by police.

“This is how our champions are being treated. The world is watching us,” she tweeted

This is how our champions are being handled. The world is watching us! #WrestlersProtest pic.twitter.com/rjrZvgAlSO

— Sakshee Malikkh (@SakshiMalik) May 28, 2023

Security within the capital was tightened forward of the brand new parliament’s inauguration, and personnel additionally stood guard on the outskirts of Delhi as a bunch of farmers tried to enter the town to help the protesting wrestlers.

This month, dozens of farmers broke down police barricades within the metropolis to hitch the protest.

‘This is the culture’

Olympian Vinesh Phogat, one of many athletes main the protests, told Al Jazeera that a number of sexual harassment circumstances have been reported prior to now however Singh succeeded in both making the costs disappear or made positive the complainant didn’t compete once more.

Recently, Phogat mentioned, she obtained a cellphone name from younger feminine wrestlers from a state in jap India. “They had complained to the WFI in writing about sexual harassment by a coach,” she mentioned. “The coach was banned for 10 days but returned in seven days as head coach. This is the culture [of the WFI]. When the head himself is like that, what action will he take against others?”

The protesting wrestlers have refused to share the names of the ladies who’ve complained and won’t allow them to come ahead.

‘Biggest culprits are sports officials’

Wrestling is arguably India’s most profitable Olympic sport. In the 76 years since India’s independence, it has gained 21 medals in particular person sports activities, seven by wrestlers.

Most wrestlers come from villages, lots of them from poor households and the majority of them have been from Haryana, an agrarian and extremely patriarchal area with excessive charges of feminine foeticide and murders of ladies generally known as “honour killings”.

Female athletes have lengthy complained of sexual harassment of their sports activities though they’ve been reluctant to talk out publicly.

“Many athletes have told me about being subjected to various kinds of exploitation, but they don’t want to come out in the open when they are in their prime,” sports activities lawyer and activist Saurabh Mishra informed Al Jazeera.

“Seeking favours is not rare – financial, sexual,” Mishra added. “In my view, the biggest culprits are sports federation officials who are running their fiefdoms.”