Brij Bhushan, who was asked last week to step aside as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief while an investigation against him concludes, has moved the Delhi High Court to seek an FIR (first information report) against top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. He has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, seeking the first information report over “extortion and blackmailing by making allegations of sexual assault”. This comes days after a mega protest by the top wrestlers at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar – which garnered huge support – was called off following assurances from the central government. The hearing is likely to come up this week.
In his plea, Bhushan has said that Vinesh Phogat, who is the first person in his list, started extorting and blackmailing him for resigning him from the post of president at Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on the pretext of protest for sexual harassment on the wrestlers. He also said that “media has now transformed itself into Janata Adalat or ‘public court’ and started intervening in the proceedings of the court”.
“The vital gap between the convict and accused is completely overlooked by the media by keeping at stake the cardinal principles of ‘presumption of innocence until proven guilty’ and ‘guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” the plea read. Sangeeta Phogat, Suman Malik, Anshu Malik, and Bajrang Punia are among the other wrestlers that have been mentioned in the petition, which also names some media organizations.
On Sunday, the WFI’s annual meet was called off in Uttar Pradesh where Bhushan was expected to speak. He has rejected all the claims against him. The central government, meanwhile, has suspended all the WFI activities.
“Centre has heard all players pertaining to allegations levelled against WFI. A tournament was stopped immediately, Additional secretary was sacked and an oversight committee will begin an impartial probe so that everything gets clear,” Union Sports Minster Anurag Thakur told reporters on Sunday.
(With inputs from ANI)
