Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik clarified herself after joining railway duty and denied claims of pulling out from the wrestlers' protest on Monday. According to media reports, Malik has joined her job in Northern Railways. Vinesh Poghat and Bajrang Punia are also reportedly back to their duties. This comes a couple of days after a delegation of top wrestlers met Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in Delhi.
The meeting began late on Saturday at Amit Shah's residence in Delhi and lasted until late that night, as the grapplers demanded the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Satyawrat Kadian, the husband of top wrestler Sakshi Malik, claimed the meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah was inconclusive as the wrestlers "did not get the reaction they wanted from the Home Minister."
The discussion with Shah came only days after the protesting wrestlers attempted to discard their medals in the Ganga river in Haridwar, but were prevented by farmers' activist Naresh Tikait. Their release was followed by a demand to the government that BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh be arrested before June 9.
As per a media report, Amit Shah told the wrestlers, "Let the law take its own course." Meanwhile, Malik has also come forward, stating that they will keep on fighting until they get justice. She wrote the following on Twitter by urging people to stop spreading wrong news:
"This is wrong that I have taken back my complaint. No one has stepped back from the fight for justice and no one will. I'm joining my duty responsibly by continuing the protests. Our fight continues till we get justice. Request you not to spread wrong news."
Police officials manhandled wrestlers during Parliament inauguration
Wrestlers have been protesting against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, alleging he sexually harassed women grapplers, including a minor. So far, two FIRs have been lodged against Brij Bhushan, and he has been booked under the POCSO act. However, things took a turn for the worse last week as the protestors, along with their supporters, decided to march to the new parliament building during its inauguration ceremony.
The police officials stopped them on their way, allegedly manhandling and detaining some of the wrestlers. The cops also lodged an FIR against them in multiple sections. In response to that treatment, the athletes reached Haridwar on Tuesday to discard their medals in Ganga river. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait also reached the site and asked them to delay their decision by five days. He said the government should be given 7 to 10 days to take appropriate action.
