Wrestlers Protest: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accused of sending his men to threaten Bajrang Punia and Co

Add as a preferred source on Google

As the Wrestlers Protest 2.0 entered its fourth day on Wednesday, Bajrang Punia accused former Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP strongman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of intimidating the wrestlers through his stooges at the protest site in New Delhi.

Tokyo Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia -- who is leading the wrestlers protest with elite wrestling names Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik -- alleged that some of Brij Bhushan's men came to the protest site on Wednesday morning and told the wrestlers that it's not a good idea to mess with somebody, who has killed his rivals in the past.

Punia also claimed that the minor wrestler, one of the seven women to accuse the BJP MP from Kaiserjganj of sexual harassment, has intimidated the parents of the girl as well to withdraw her complaint.

"Brij Bhushan calls himself innocent but his men are trying to pressurise the minor and her family. Even some of us here do not know her identity, how did he know?" alleged Some people even came here today morning and told me, 'he got his rival murdered on the day of voting when he was denied a ticket, why are you fighting him'. If this is not a threat, then what is," Bajrang Punia alleged.

Earlier, the wrestlers also accused the sports ministry's oversight committee, appointed to investigate the charges against Brij Bhushan, of being partial in their inquiry towards the WFI boss. A report by PTI also read that members of the Committee, chaired by boxer and Rajya Sabha MP Mary Kom, cleared Brij Bhushan of the charges.

However, the verdict by the committee didn't include the vote of Babita Phogat, who was a late inclusion to the panel on the insistence of wrestlers as they feared impartiality. Babita, who joined BJP recently with her father Mahavir Phogat, said she wasn't allowed to read the final report by another member of the panel, Radhica Sreeman.

Sreeman, who is a former SAI administrator, vehemently denied the claim and said Babita's phone was switched off on the day of the voting and the committee chairman decided to include her vote later on.

Amid the allegation of partiality against the oversight committee, the credential of the panel has been objectionable too due to the lack of a judiciary member. Also, it's worth noting that former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt has contested assembly elections in Haryana on BJP tickets in the past while Mary Kom is often linked with BJP as well.