Seven women wrestlers continue to seek justice even as police refuse to take cognisance of their charge of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation against the president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharma. A protest that first began in January saw India's top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya, Sakshi Malik and others going on a sit-in protest squatting on the streets and wanting to be heard. Almost three months later, their cries still go unheard, leaving them with the only option of seeking legal course.
While the protest continues, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formed an 'oversight committee' to probe allegations against the WFI, its president and coaches, but surprisingly, the report is still not made public even as vague references to its content have been made, and this compounds the suspicion of a cover-up.
This will be one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of Indian sports, and Phogat's tweet sums it all up ” "From podium to footpath". The reluctance of the police to proceed legally is understandable, given the power Brij Bhushan wields. However, the eerie silence of Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and seniors at the sports ministry is baffling. It appears the sports administration has turned its back on some of its finest sports personalities.
In Goa, sprint legend PT Usha states that the women wrestlers haven't approached the Indian Olympic Association, which is enough to show how rigid the system is towards sportspersons in distress. Why hasn't the IOA taken suo motto cognisance of this case, given that it is about human rights violation? Giving the cold shoulder to sportspersons of international repute who have brought honour to the nation globally is by itself a dishonour and needs total condemnation. A statement like "They haven't come to us" was not expected from Usha, an international sports star in her heydays. Rather, the police should have been questioned, just the way the court did.
Sexual harassment is a serious violation of a woman's fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution; however, in this particular case, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the Delhi police feels there is a need to conduct a 'preliminary inquiry' before registering the FIR. The question is whether this yardstick applies to all citizens or if it is at police discretion to pick and choose. Let's be mindful of the fact that the accused is a BJP strongman and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament.
The police and the sports ministry must bear in mind that they are not only delaying the inevitable but in the process, giving India a bad name. The news of India's torch bearers of wresting fighting against sexual harassment, and that too against the backdrop of our political hierarchies taking the high moral ground of zero tolerance on crimes against women, is disgraceful, downright shameful and exposes the hypocrisy.
Putting an accused in a sexual harassment case on trial is not shameful; shielding him or denying justice to the victims is a greater evil.
