New Delhi: Amidst confessions by protesting wrestlers that there is pressure on them to withdraw the protest, wrestler Vinesh Phogat has told Reuters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the allegations of sexual harassment against Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been particularly hurtful.“It’s been emotionally draining, the PM has not said anything about this case,” Phogat, who is a world champion in wrestling, told Reuters. Phogat also told Reuters that Union sports minister Anurag Thakur “was not just interested in listening” to her concerns and had been “busy on his phone” when she was talking to him.Delhi Police have filed two cases against Singh, including one under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The registration of FIRs came after the Supreme Court ordered the police to do so.The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi Police to protect the identity of the seven complainants, one of whom is a minor. However, in the interview Phogat reveals the extent to which she has been affected in the case.‘Efforts on to break us’Phogat’s compatriot in the protest, Sakshi Malik, has noted that efforts are being on to “break” them. The accounts of the minor have been treated by politicians and a section of the media with repeated doubts.“It’s proved, the statements were recorded under Sections 161 and 164 and it changed. We can’t understand,” Sakshi told PTI, noting how sexual harassment charges were allegedly withdrawn by the minor complainant.“It is clear that father of the minor was under pressure. Pressure is being built,” she added.The wrestlers have temporarily paused the protest but have vowed to resume if “strong action” is not taken, as promised by minister Thakur, by June 15.Bajrang Punia, the third face of the protests, has also criticised the matter of how one of the complainants were taken to “recreate a scene” when the accused, MP Singh, was inside.“How fair is that you take a girl there to re-create the scene when that man is there inside? You can understand the mental pressure she would have felt,” said Bajrang.Meanwhile, Indian Express has reported that Delhi Police has allegedly asked two of the complainants who had alleged that Singh would touch their breasts and stomach on the pretext of checking their breathing for “photos, audio and video” as evidence for their allegations.“This even includes the photo of a “hug” that Singh is said to have given one of the complainants that was red-flagged in the FIR,” the report said.Punia and Malik have reiterated that they, along with Phogat, are united in their demand.
