On Sunday, the Delhi Police detained around 700 demonstrators, including several of India's finest wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, as they stepped up their call for the arrest of their federation's head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over charges of sexual harassment.
Indian Olympic medalists were released late in the day after being imprisoned for hours on trumped-up charges of rioting.
On the day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the new temple of democracy next to the historic Parliament building, Indian wrestlers received horrific treatment.
Videos showed Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and other wrestlers being taken from Jantar Mantar, where they had been protesting for more than a month, by the scruff of their necks police. All of the tents at the protest location have already been taken down by police.
Wrestlers must obtain permission before staging a demonstration in the city, according to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi. Officially, the wrestlers will not be granted permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar, the official stated.
According to Suman Nalwa, Deputy Commissioner of the Delhi Police, the protesting wrestlers were peacefully apprehended yesterday. She told ANI News Agency that "yesterday was a crucial day for both law and order," defending the police's course of action. We had to uphold law and order and avert any form of turmoil because the new Parliament was being inaugurated.
To stop wrestlers from staging a protest near Jantar Mantar, Delhi Police has stationed several officers and installed barricades in the area. Olympic winners Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik were among the nearly 700 demonstrators that the police detained yesterday after filing rioting charges against them. Additionally, the police took down tents from Jantar Mantar, where protesters had been camped out for more than a month calling for the arrest of WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over charges of sexual assault.
The Delhi Police, which has been under fire for how it treated the female wrestlers, particularly on Sunday, has now defended its actions.
The Delhi Police stated in a formal statement that demonstrators broke the law yesterday despite repeated appeals. The continuing sit-in protest has been forced to end for this reason. If the wrestlers request a sit-in protest in the future, they will be allowed to do it at a location other than Jantar Mantar that is suitable.
