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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has condemned the best way India’s high wrestlers are being handled throughout their ongoing protest.
It has additionally demanded an investigation into allegations that Indian wrestling chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sexually harassed feminine athletes.
They had been demanding the resignation and arrest of the federation chief.
Mr Singh, who can also be an influential MP from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has denied the allegations and accused the wrestlers of being “politically motivated”.
On Tuesday, he informed reporters that the Delhi police was investigating and that they might arrest him in the event that they discovered something towards him. “Let the investigation take place, it is in the hands of Delhi police,” he said.
Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and two-time world champion medallist Vinesh Phogat, had been amongst those that had been detained and later launched by the police on Sunday. The police additionally filed cases including of rioting towards them.
Visuals of the athletes being dragged and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism from high athletes and opposition politicians.
In an announcement on Tuesday night time, the IOC “urged the safety and wellbeing of these athletes” and referred to as for “a speedy conclusion” of the investigation.
It stated it had been in shut contact with United World Wrestling (UWW) – the worldwide organisation governing newbie wrestling – over the state of affairs.
The UWW additionally issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it was following “with great concern” the wrestlers’ protests “over allegations of abuse and harassment by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)”.
“It expresses its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations so far,” the assertion stated and added that the UWW would maintain a gathering with the wrestlers to inquire about their security and “reconfirm our support for a fair and just resolution of their concerns”.
The UWW additionally stated that it’d droop the WFI if its upcoming elections weren’t held on time.
The wrestlers, who’ve been protesting for over a month now, had first protested in January however referred to as it off after Mr Singh was stripped of his administrative powers by the sports activities ministry and the federal government promised to analyze their complaints.
On Tuesday, the wrestlers had threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges – India’s holiest river. They stated they’d first thought of returning their medals to the president and the prime minister however had been dissatisfied that they’d not spoken concerning the protests even as soon as.
“These medals are our life and soul… We feel there’s no meaning to having these medals around our necks anymore,” they stated in an announcement.
But they had been persuaded by Naresh Tikait, chief of influential farming group Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), to not throw their medals but. Mr Tikait later informed reporters he was giving the federal government 5 days to take motion.
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