Vijender Singh Asked By Wrestlers To Leave Stage During Protest Against WFI Chairman: Report

Olympian boxer and Congress politician Vijender Singh on Friday joined the wrestlers protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation India (WFI) and its chairman Brij Bhushan Saran Singh. As per an ANI report, the player was asked to step down from the stage by the wrestlers during the protest as they didn't want to politicize the issue. Visuals from the Jantar Mantar protest site showed the 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist sitting not on the stage with the wrestlers but on the ground below.

On the other hand, Vijender demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the sexual harassment allegations leveled by the grapplers against the WFI chairman.

"I want justice to be served to those wrestlers, there must be a thorough probe into the allegations raised by wrestlers and there must be a CBI probe against those who're involved in this," Singh who is now with the Congress party told ANI.

The champion boxer also sought for a live recording of any interaction between Union sports minister Anurag Thakur or any official with the wrestlers so that everyone could get to know about the discussion and the outcome of it.

It is worth noting that on Thursday, Brinda Karat of the CPI (M) who reached the site to join in the protest was also requested to step down from the stage by the grapplers.

Vijender later in a Congress party press briefing with former India discuss player Krishna Poonia said that Prime Minister Modi should speak up on the issue and that action under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code should be initiated on the issue.

Several ace wrestlers of the country, including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Ravi Dahiya, are participating in the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, which began on Wednesday.

(With ANI Inputs)