The Indian Olympic Association has formed a seven-member committee to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
These seven members are Olympic medallists Mary Kom and Yogeshwar Dutt, Dola Banerjee, Alaknanda Ashok, Sahdev Yadav and two lawyers.
This was after some of the top wrestlers from the country staged protests at Delhi’s Janta Mantar to stage protests against Singh demanding his resignation and arrest.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat had first raised the allegations of sexual misconduct against Singh, who has denied charges levelled against him.
Singh said that there will be a ‘tsunami’ if he speaks on the allegations of sexual harassment. “If I speak, there will be a tsunami… I am not here because of someone’s charity. I have been elected by the people,” NDTV quoted the WFI chief as saying.
Meanwhile, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani has attacked the Congress over the wrestlers’ protest. This was after India Today’s Rahul Kanwal told the minister that many ‘Congress wallas’ were demanding a response from her.
Kanwal had to face public condemnation for bringing disrepute to the profession of journalism.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, who held a long meeting with protesting wrestlers on Thursday night, has reportedly warned Singh to not make any more public statements over the controversy.
Earlier, the protesting wrestlers had written to IOA chief PT Usha informing her about the mental torture suffered by Vinesh Phogat allegedly by Singh.