The videos and photographs went viral on Sunday. Two champion wrestlers are lying on the street amidst a swirl of uniformed arms attempting to haul them away. As two-time World Championships bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat and her cousin Sangeeta Phogat attempt to resist the onslaught, the images show them clinging on to each other in a hug of support, a pole fixed with the Indian flag next to them.
It did not last long. They were soon overpowered and pushed into the buses waiting to take them into detention.
Sangeeta Phogat’s husband, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, was also detained, as was the Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik. They too were shoved and manhandled by the police.
For over a month, the wrestlers had been protesting at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demand action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the head of the Wrestling Federation of India and Bharatiya Janata Party MP, who they accused of sexual harassment and intimidation. It was only on the orders of the Supreme Court that the Delhi Police finally registered two first information reports.
by Shahid Judge
29/05/2023