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In what is seen by the protesting wrestlers as an attempt to bring down the curtains on their protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi Police on Sunday They arrested Fenech Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia To break the law and to dismantle arrangements at the protest site.
Wrestlers were dragged off the road and put into police vans when they tried to cross security barriers and walk to the new parliament building, outside which a women’s shelter was to be erected.
The wrestlers have been protesting in Jantar Mantar since April 23 to demand the arrest of Indian Wrestling Federation President and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Charan Singh, who has been accused by seven female wrestlers of sexually harassing, including a minor.
Soon after the wrestlers were removed from the Jantar Mantar, the tarpaulin-roofed tent and their home were dragged down by the police for over a month. “We have been instructed to remove everything related to the wrestlers from Jantar Mantar within two to three hours,” said a senior police officer. Mattresses, bamboo poles, water bottle cans, rollaway beds and air coolers were loaded at the back of the tracks. Posters supporting wrestlers have been removed.
Hundreds of people, including plantation leaders who had traveled from Punjab and Haryana to support the wrestlers, were arrested at the Delhi border. Rakesh Teket, spokesperson for the BJP, was arrested at the Ghazipur border.
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Delhi police on Sunday detained protesting wrestlers including Finch Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia after they breached the security cordon while trying to move towards the new parliament building, where the women’s Mahapanchayat was scheduled to take place that day. (Quick shot by Amit Mehra)
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In the chaotic scenes seen in Jantar Mantar, wrestlers and police officers pushed and shoved each other while Finch Phogat and her cousin-sister Sangeeta Phogat tried to break through the barricades. (Quick shot by Amit Mehra)
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Police officials were also seen clearing the site of the protest, where wrestlers resumed their incitement against Indian Wrestling Federation President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on April 23. (Express Photo by Nihal Koshie)
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All the protesters were arrested and forcibly ridden in buses by the police. “They have been arrested for violating law and order. We will take legal action after investigation in due course,” said Dipendra Pathak, director of the Special Program and Law and Order. (Quick shot by Amit Mehra)
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Delhi Police beefed up security at Jantar Mantar after wrestlers protested the call of the ‘Mahela Saman Mahapanchayat’. (Quick shot by Amit Mehra)
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It appears that the police will not allow the wrestlers to return to the protest site although no official statement has been made in this regard. (Nihal Koshy snapshot)
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Police officers began clearing the protest site by removing cribs, mattresses, cooling fans, and the tarpaulin roof along with other wrestlers’ belongings. (Nihal Koshy snapshot)
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Champion wrestlers have resumed their rage against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Charan Singh on April 23, demanding his arrest. (Nihal Koshy snapshot)
The streets around Jantar Mantar seemed deserted from the early morning because they were cordoned off but at the center of the protests there were anxious moments as the wrestlers, determined to reach Parliament, did not back down as the senior officers told them to stay where they were. in Jantar Mantar.
As the police car made its way from Jantar Mantar, Finch stuck her head out of the open glass window and said, “Naya Desh Mubarak Ho”.
Police sources told The Indian Express that an FIR report has been filed against the wrestlers. They would be booked under IPC Sections 147 (riot), 148 (riot, armed), 149 (unlawful assembly), 352 (attacking any person other than a serious and sudden provocation), 353 (assault to deter a public official from doing his or her job) and 186 (Disability of a public servant in service).
Dipendra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), told The Indian Express, “This was very irresponsible behavior of the wrestlers and protesters. He asked them not to come out. We asked them to continue their protest inside the barricades because of the opening. They did not listen and jumped the barricades. A few They are breaking barriers. We have taken appropriate legal action only by detaining them. Legal action is being taken for breach of peace and disturbance of law and order.”
However, a detained wrestler told this newspaper that they want to continue their protest in Jantar Mantar.
In a video message on Twitter before their arrest, Sakshi said, “Today we join the Mahila Mahapanchayat in front of the New Parliament House. The Khab, the farmer leaders and those affiliated with women’s organizations have been arrested and imprisoned. On the one hand, there is a message coming out through the inauguration of the New Parliament House but at the same Time is being stifled democracy. We have sat on the road for 35 days to bring justice to women but our voice has not been heard. I appeal to the women of Delhi to come and support us.”
Vinesh also posted a similar message, adding that the protest site had been turned into a prison by Sunday morning.
India’s first Olympic gold medalist in track and field, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra responds to a video posted by Sakshi which showed Sangeeta being carried by policewomen tweeting: “Yeh Dikhkar Mujhe Bahut Duk Ho Raha Hai (I see this I feel so sad). It should be There is a better way to handle this.”
Opposition party politicians also took to social media to criticize the arrest of the wrestlers.
“The BJP government has grown so arrogant that the government is mercilessly trampling the votes of our women players under their boots. This is completely wrong,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet.
Bajrang said before his arrest, “We told the police about our plans 3 to 4 days ago. We even wrote a letter of permission and asked them to let a Mahila panchayat of 400-500 women. We had no other plans but no one heard us. They drag us down and take us to the police stations.” We will continue to protest.”
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