Swati Maliwal, the chief of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), on Friday (19) asked as to why the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president has not been asked to resign, in the wake allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by women wrestlers.
Celebrated Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, are staging a sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar here for the last two days against WFI president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh (C) arrives to address a press conference in Gonda on January 20, 2023, following allegations of sexual harassment to wrestlers by members of the WFI. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
"It has been 72 hours since the protest was launched by the Indian wrestlers. Why has the WFI president's resignation not been sought? Why is an FIR not being registered in connection with the sexual harassment allegations? Why is the sports minister not making efforts to end the protest? Till when will the pride of the country sit on the street like this?" Maliwal asked in a tweet in Hindi.
Led by Phogat and Punia, the protesting wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Anshu Malik, Ravi Dahiya and Sarita Mor, met Indian sports minister Anurag Thakur at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday (19) night and demanded speedy action in the matter.
The two sides were involved in a marathon meeting that ended around 2 am, with the parties failing to find a tangible solution. The wrestlers refused to back down from their demand that the government initiate immediate steps to disband the WFI.
(PTI)
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images