United World Wrestling on Thursday suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with immediate effect in the wake of a delay in holding elections.
The Rouse Avenue court on Saturday heard the arguments of senior counsel for six women wrestlers who alleged that they were sexually harassed by the then WFI Chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He allegedly touched their breast on the pretext of checking their breathing pattern, a
"This is the first time in India's history that the United World Wrestling (UWW) has suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). This is a huge blow for the country. We pray for the country to recover from this at the earliest," Brij Bhushan said on UWW's decision.
The country's top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik protested for months since the start of this year demanding action against Brij Bhushan over alleged sexual harassment allegations.
Earlier, outgoing WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan said that today is the last day for filing nominations for the federation’s elections and no member of his family will contest the poll.
Top Indian wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have protested against Brij Bhushan this year, levelling allegations of sexual harassment against them.
The Wrestling Federation of India elections are now set to be held on 12 August after being postponed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) according to sources.
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday began hearing the regular bail plea of BJP MP and outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the case of alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers.
Notably, Vinesh was among the wrestlers who protested against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh, against whom allegations of sexual harassment were made. The reigning Asian Games champion Phogat was also supposed to be making her return to competitive wrestling at