Wrestlers' Protest: Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia rubbish withdrawal from movement, term it conspiracy

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New Delhi, June 5: India wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia on Monday (June 5) junked the reports of pulling out of the ongoing Wrestlers' Protest demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh under the sexual harassment case.

Sakshi took to her official Twitter handle and rubbished a leading TV news channel's claim that she has withdrawn from the protest. The wrestler, however, claimed that she has resumed her duty with the Indian Railways.

"This news is completely wrong. In the fight for justice, none of us has backed down, nor will we. Along with Satyagraha, I am fulfilling my responsibility in Railways. Our fight continues till justice is served. Please don't spread any wrong news," the Rio Olympics bronze-medallist grappler tweeted.

Olympic-medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia also junked the rumours of withdrawal from the protest and dubbed it as a ploy to dilute their effort.

Bajrang tweeted, "The news of withdrawing the movement is just a rumour. These news are being spread to harm us. We have neither retreated nor have we withdrawn the movement. The news of women wrestlers raising FIR is also false. The fight will continue till justice is served. #WrestlerProtest."

It is being reported that her fellow grapplers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have also returned to their duties but will continue their agitation.

Earlier on Sunday, the agitating wrestlers met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his office in New Delhi. While interacting with media persons after the meeting - which lasted for hours in the late hours - with the Home Minster, Bajrang said, they met with him but didn't divulge the contents of their meeting.

"We had a meeting with the Home Minister. I can't comment further," Bajrang was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

After their sit-in protest site was cleared by the Delhi Police last week and following their return from Haridwar - where they went to immerse their medals - the wrestlers have returned to their respective residences in Haryana and Delhi.

"We'll call a sportspersons panchayat. We will decide the date and venue of the panchayat in which all khaps, farmer unions and other activists will take part. We need three to four days to decide all these things.

After the Delhi incident, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik were emotionally down and their family members are taking care of them. Their families were concerned about them and they were not mentally up to attend this meeting," Punia had said earlier.