India: Olympic Association to investigate sexual harassment allegations against top wrestling official

• Sports minister Anurag Thakur announced the creation of an oversight committee to look into the allegations.
• Several Indian wrestlers had written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
• Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will form a seven-member panel to investigate Singh’s allegations.

The president of the Indian Wrestling Federation has been accused of sexual harassment, the country’s sports ministry announced on Friday (WFI).

After meeting with a number of prominent wrestlers who demanded an investigation, the sports minister Anurag Thakur announced the creation of an oversight committee to look into the allegations.

The WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh should be fired, and the WFI should be dissolved, according to the wrestlers, who have been protesting for the past three days in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

All of the allegations have been denied by the WFI.

Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat and four others have stated that they are speaking on behalf of the accusers in order to protect their identities and have not publicly released details about the allegations made by the young wrestlers.

At a press conference with the wrestlers in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, Sports Minister Thakur stated that “serious allegations, be they charges of financial irregularities or charges of sexual harassment, will be probed.”

The minister continued, “Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will step aside and cooperate with the investigation until the investigation is finished. The committee will observe all day-to-day operations during that time.

After a second round of talks between the minister and wrestlers, Hakur made his announcement.

Thakur stated that the committee has four weeks to complete the investigation.

He also stated that the names of the oversight committee members would be announced on Saturday.

India’s Olympic Association launches an investigation

Welcoming the announcement, Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia, who attended the meeting, said, “The union sports minister listened to our demands and has assured us that a proper investigation will be done. I thank him, and we are hopeful that a fair investigation will be conducted, so we are canceling our protest.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will form a seven-member panel to investigate Singh’s allegations.

“We will ensure a thorough investigation to ensure justice,” IOA president PT Usha said in a tweet Friday, urging athletes to come forward and express their concerns.

Several Indian wrestlers had written to the IOA, demanding that an inquiry committee be formed to look into the allegations.

Five wrestlers claim “several young wrestlers” have raised serious complaints of “sexual harassment” against the WFI president in a letter addressed to the president of the IOA and shared on Twitter.

The WFI chief was supposed to hold a press conference on Friday, but he did not show up. “We’ve given our official statement to (the) sports ministry,” his son Pratik Bhushan Singh told reporters.

A press conference scheduled for Sunday has also been postponed “until further notice” by the WFI chief.

In their letter to the IOA, Phogat and her fellow wrestlers stated that “it has taken a lot of courage for the wrestlers to come together” and file their complaints against Singh, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Indian Parliament.

“We are concerned for our lives,” they added.

Women wrestlers speak out

Phogat, the first female Indian wrestler to win gold at the Commonwealth and Asian Games, tweeted on Wednesday, “The players want self-respect,” adding that “if the federation does not support them, morale breaks down.”

“I am fighting alongside my teammates, she said.

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