Wrestler Sakshi Malik Reveals Brij Bhushan's Involvement in Protest and Threats to Her Mother

Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik claimed on Wednesday that the "goons" associated with former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh were issuing threats to her mother. She accused BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh of orchestrating protests against her and fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat.

Amid the ongoing turmoil in Indian wrestling, a significant number of junior wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to protest the loss of a crucial year in their careers. They held the country's top grapplers, Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh, responsible for the situation. These junior wrestlers, who had accused Brij Bhushan of sexual harassment, alleged that the trio was ruining the future of aspiring wrestlers.

Around 300 junior wrestlers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi arrived at Jantar Mantar via Metro trains and buses on Wednesday morning, chanting slogans against Bajrang, Sakshi, and Vinesh. They demanded the restoration of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which has been suspended due to the controversy surrounding the election of an alleged Brij Bhushan loyalist as his successor. The protesters called for disbanding the ad hoc panel appointed by the sports ministry to run the sport.

"I have given years of my life to wrestling and retired recently, so you can tell how stressed I am mentally. There is an IT cell of Brij Bhushan Singh on social media. These protesters are his men and are running propaganda for him. Brij Bhushan was behind mobilizing and sponsoring this protest," said Sakshi during a media conference.

"Goons of Brij Bhushan are active. My mother is getting threat calls. Our safety is the government’s responsibility," she added.

Two weeks ago, Sakshi had tearfully announced her retirement from wrestling in protest after Sanjay Singh , a "loyalist" of Brij Bhushan, won the WFI president's election. Bajrang, in solidarity with Sakshi, returned his Padma Shri by leaving it on the footpath near Rajpath. Vinesh, a Women’s World Championships medallist, also placed her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards in the middle of the road on Rajpath.

Last year, top men and women wrestlers had protested at Jantar Mantar for weeks against Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual harassment. On May 28, Delhi police, reporting to the Union home ministry, had forcibly removed the country’s top wrestlers, including Sakshi, Bajrang, and Vinesh, from their Jantar Mantar protest site while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurating the new Parliament building.

"We knew Brij Bhushan is influential, but we did not know he was so powerful that he and his aide would declare nationals from his residence without discussing with anyone. Now we are being accused of spoiling the wrestling careers of the juniors. I have taken sanyas from wrestling. I want junior girls to fulfill what I could not. I want them to win silver, gold for the country. I don’t want any junior to suffer like us," said Sakshi on Wednesday.

"We have no problem with the new federation or the ad hoc committee. We only have a problem with Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh," she added.

Since January 2023, national camps and competitions have been on hold as the WFI has been suspended twice, and an ad hoc panel is running the sport.