Anurag Thakur: Need to follow Legal procedures

Anurag Thakur, Union Sports Minister, stated on Friday that everyone wants to see the wrestlers who are calling for action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh receive justice, but that can only happen once the proper legal procedures have been followed.

Thakur’s comments come days after the nation’s top wrestlers vowed to throw their medals into the Ganga river in Haridwar as a form of protest after Singh was accused of sexual harassment.

All of us want justice to be served, but it will only be done when the proper procedures have been followed, Thakur said in an interactive session at the India Economic Conclave, which was held by the Times Network.

A government-appointed committee submitted a report on the charges against Singh, who is also a member of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the minister claimed that the Delhi Police are currently looking into the situation.

In response to claims that Singh’s status as a member of the ruling party at the Centre’s Lok Sabha caused a delay in action, Thakur replied, “There is no question of bias.”

The chargesheet in the case is anticipated to be filed by the Delhi Police soon, the minister stated.We are all in favour of a quick probe, he continued.

Thakur said that the government had complied with all of the wrestlers’ demands, established a panel to look into their accusations against Singh, and urged the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to create a committee of administrators to manage the WFI’s business.

He added that the acts the wrestlers were referring to had occurred seven years earlier. “Be it an athlete or a woman, if any atrocity has been committed, they should get speedy justice,” he stated.