Wrestling federation president to release statement on Jan 22

Singh's son and MLA from Sadar seat Prateek Bhushan said on Friday that the WFI president will release his statement after consulting the office-bearers of the federation on Jan 22.

He said that the reply to the notice given by the Union Sports Ministry has been sent.

Earlier in the day, amidst ongoing protest by the wrestlers in New Delhi, WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh attacked wrestler Vinesh Phogat and said that a conspiracy has been done with him, which he will reveal to the media.

"I have not fled to a foreign country, I am very much here," he said.

He said he has had no dialogue with the government so far. "A conspiracy has been done with me and I will reveal it in the evening," he said.

The WFI president said that 300 wrestlers will be participating in the championship.

"I am not going anywhere till January 23, I will remain in the stadium," he said.

After the first round of talks failed to reach a breakthrough, Indian wrestlers protesting sexual harassment allegations against the federation chief and some national coaches met with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday for the second time.

Following the meeting, the Indian Olympic Association (IOC) announced a seven-member panel will probe the charges against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after an emergency meeting late in the evening.

The panel will comprise noted athletes Mary Kom, Dola Banerjee, Alaknanda Ashok, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sahdev Yadav.

Ahead of the second meeting, the wrestlers sent a letter to the head of the Indian Olympic body, PT Usha, seeking action against Singh.

"Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by the WFI chief after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. She almost contemplated suicide," the wrestlers wrote in their letter to Usha, as reported in the media. adding that "they fear for their lives".

Vinesh Phogat has agreed to reveal the identity of the victims to the Indian Olympic Association committee.

The massive Jantar Mantar protest is being headed by celebrated Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik besides Vinesh Phogat and others.

They are staging a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar for the last two days against the WFI president, accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation and have demanded that the federation be disbanded.

On Wednesday, the Centre made it clear that if the WFI does not respond in the next three days, the sports ministry "will proceed to initiate action against the federation in terms of the provisions of the National Sports Development Code, 2011."