‘Is this country under dictatorship?’: Protesting Indian wrestlers charged with rioting, unlawful assembly
Indian wrestler protest
Top Indian wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia were among those detained by the police in the national capital, Delhi after they tried to march to the new parliament building hours after it was inaugurated, on Sunday.
A few hours later, the Delhi police filed an FIR against the protesting wrestlers as well as the organisers of the protest for rioting, unlawful assembly and obstructing public servants in their duty.
The move was later criticised by Sakshi Malik who took to Twitter and pointed out how the police several days to register an FIR against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)’s chief Brij Bhushan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment but only took a few hours to register an FIR against the wrestlers for “peacefully protesting”.
What happened on Sunday?
The protesting athletes had planned a ‘Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat’ (women’s assembly) as part of their ongoing protest. The situation escalated when wrestlers, led by Vinesh Phogat and her cousin sister Sangeeta Phogat, allegedly attempted to breach the security barricades.
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They were stopped by hundreds of police officers present after the security measures in the national capital were ramped up ahead of the inauguration of the new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Images and videos from the scene showed protesters and police shoving and pushing each other before officers forcefully dragged the wrestlers and pushed them into police vans. “This is wrong,” said Malik, while being detained. She added, “We were walking quietly, they dragged us forcefully and detained us and they're not even telling us where we will be taken.”
After the protesting wrestlers were detained, the police officers moved to clear the protest site, which has been active for over a month at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The detention had garnered condemnation and criticism from other athletes as well as opposition politicians in India.
Why were the wrestlers protesting?
The protests followed sexual harassment allegations against the WFI chief by seven female wrestlers, including a minor, who complained against Singh and called for his arrest.
The wrestlers have been staging a sit-in at Jantar Mantar since April 23 following the allegations and demanded criminal action against Bhushan who has since been stripped of all administrative powers by the sports ministry.
Legal action against wrestlers
As of late Sunday, the police had filed an FIR against the protesting wrestlers and others for rioting, unlawful assembly and obstructing public servants in their duty. senior Delhi Police Officer Dependra Pathak after the detention had said that the wrestlers had been detained for “violating law and order.”
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The officials also later informed that the protesting wrestlers had been taken to different police stations in the city and said that legal action will be taken against them. “As you have seen the barricades have been broken and they moved ahead despite request and warning,” said Pathak, as per PTI, on Sunday.
The FIR has been registered under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), pertaining to disobedience, obstructing public servants in the discharge of public functions, assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty.
Some of the additional charges also include 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC and Section 3 (mischief causing damage to public property) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, reported news agency PTI.
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‘Dictatorship’: Sakshi Malik about the FIR
Malik, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal in 2016, took to Twitter late last night and said, “It took seven days for the Delhi Police to register an FIR against sexual harasser Brij Bhushan, and it didn’t even take seven hours to register an FIR against us for peacefully protesting.”
She added, “Is this country under a dictatorship? The whole world is watching how the government is treating its players.” As of late Sunday, the police had 700 people detained across Delhi, including 109 protesters at Jantar Mantar. They were released later that day.
On Monday, Bajrang Punia also responded to a former IPS officer’s tweet whosaid that the protesters should be shot. “This IPS officer is talking about shooting us. Brother is standing in front, tell me where to come to get shot… I swear that I will not show my back, I will take your bullet on my chest,” said Punia, in response to the statement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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