New Delhi: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has suspended the newly elected executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) saying that it “appears to be in complete control of former office bearers” — an apparent reference to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s continued dominance in the body that oversees wrestling in the country.
The ministry in a letter to the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), a copy of which is with ThePrint, said it took note of the “compelling current situation arising out of the influence and control of the WFI’s former office bearers” and that “serious concerns have arisen about the governance and integrity” of the body.
In the letter, dated 24 December 2023, the ministry further requested the IOA to constitute an Ad-Hoc Committee to manage the affairs of the WFI, including “selection of athletes, making entries for participation of sportspersons in international events, holding of sporting activities, etc. with immediate effect, until further orders”.
Earlier in the day, a press statement reportedly issued by the sports ministry was being circulated which said that the “business of the federation (WFI)” was being run from “premises controlled by former office bearers” where “sexual harassment” of players is alleged to have taken place and the matter is currently in court.
The WFI office is located in an annexe at the official bungalow of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on Ashoka Road. In their statements to the police, women wrestlers who accused Brij Bhushan of sexual harassment submitted detailed accounts of how the alleged harassment took place at the WFI office.
The ministry’s purported press statement also said that decisions taken by the WFI executive body, including that of holding junior nationals in Gonda, show “complete arbitrariness” on the part of the newly elected president Sanjay Kumar Singh.
The suspension of the WFI executive body came three days after elections were held to 15 posts of office bearers of the wrestling body, including that of president, following a year of administrative turmoil at the sporting body.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, who defeated former ace wrestler Anita Sheoran to clinch the post of president, is seen as a close aide of Brij Bhushan. Sheoran, on the other hand, is a witness in a sexual harassment case against the BJP MP and had the backing of Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshee Mallikh — who have been demanding Brij Bhushan’s arrest.
On his part, Brij Bhushan — who relinquished the post after having occupied it for 11 years — did not shy away from acknowledging his ties to the newly elected WFI president.
Soon after the declaration of the results Thursday, a poster was seen outside his official bungalow on Ashoka Road which read: “dabdaba toh hai, dabdaba toh rahega (dominance will persist).” On it was Brij Bhushan’s face, along with that of Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Wrestlers demanding intervention against Brij Bhushan’s sway within the WFI had met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur a day before the election to call for the withdrawal of Sanjay Kumar Singh’s candidature.
Following the declaration of results, Olympics Bronze medalist Mallikh said at a press conference that she had decided to “give up her wrestling”, while Punia — also an Olympics Bronze medalist — returned his Padma Shri as a mark of protest. The medal, which he left on a pavement, is currently in possession of the Delhi Police, as ThePrint reported earlier.
Also Read: ‘Don of all dons, murderer, wrestling reformer’ — WFI chief & MP Brij Bhushan’s colourful life
‘Blatant disregard for norms’
In its purported press statement Sunday, the sports ministry cited Sanjay Kumar Singh’s “hasty” decision to hold junior nationals (Under 15 and Under 20) without “sufficient notice” to wrestlers and in violation of the “provisions of the WFI constitution”, to justify its decision to suspend the executive body of the WFI for the time being.
The newly elected WFI president had said earlier this week that junior nationals would be held before the end of this year in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Opposing the decision, Sakshee Mallikh had in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said that the sporting body should not hold the junior nationals in Gonda, which is the home turf of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The ministry reportedly said that wrestlers looking to take part in the nationals should have been informed at least 15 days in advance and that decisions made by the executive body “demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)