It Hurts Me...: Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra Seeks Justice For Protesting Wrestlers

Neeraj Chopra requested authorities to resolve the matter and take necessary actions against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment.

Neeraj Chopra supports wrestlers who are protesting against WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh.

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It has been a while now since wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik have been protesting at Jantar Mantar demanding FIR against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment. On Friday, Olympic Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra requested authorities to resolve the matter and take necessary actions against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment.

Neeraj shared a message where he said, "It hurts me to see our athletes on the streets demanding justice. They have worked hard to represent our great nation and make us proud. As a nation, we are responsible for safeguarding the integrity and dignity of every individual, athlete or not."

"What's happening should never happen. This is a sensitive issue, and must be dealt with in an impartial and transparent manner. Pertaining authorities must take quick action in order to ensure that justice is served."

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra urges authorities to take "quick action to ensure justice" for wrestlers protesting against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and intimidation pic.twitter.com/cE8YAUVOWW

— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2023

 

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sent notices to the Delhi government and others regarding a plea by seven wrestlers claiming that an FIR was not registered regarding their sexual harassment claims against Birj Bhushan. The notices stated that these were "serious allegations" that needed to be taken into consideration.

The top court initially believed that the women wrestlers' plea might be scheduled for Friday. However, it decided to immediately take up the case after hearing some arguments from senior attorney Kapil Sibal, who mentioned the issue.

According to the bench, Section 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (police officers' power to investigate cognizable cases) typically provides a remedy for contacting the police. Sibal claimed that seven wrestlers, one of whom was a minor, had made allegations of sexual harassment, but despite the fact that the law is very clear on this topic, no FIR has been filed as of yet.