After an over five-hour-long truce meet with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, the protesting wrestlers led by Bajrang Punia said that the government has assured them that police investigation will be completed before June 15 and the status of the probe will also be out by then.
“The government has assured us that police investigation will be completed before 15th June. We have requested that all FIRs against wrestlers should be taken back and he has agreed to it. If no action is taken by June 15, we will continue our protest,” Bajrang Punia told ANI after meeting Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
Briefing the media after the meeting concluded, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said that he has assured the protesting wrestlers that the probe against Brij Bushan Sharan Singh will be completed by June 15.
“I had a long 6-hour discussion with the wrestlers. We have assured wrestlers that the probe will be completed by 15th June and chargesheets will be submitted. The election of WFI will be done by 30th June,” he said.
The government has also said that elections to the WFI will be held by June 30 and Brij Bhushan and his aides will not be allowed to contest. The Sports minister also assured the wrestlers that Brij Bhushan will not return at the helm at WFI.
The athletes have said that they would hold their protest until June 15.
The wrestlers were invited for talks by the government for the second time in four days, having earlier met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.
The sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar began on January 18 when they levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan, who is also a parliamentarian from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
After an assurance that the Central Government will form a committee to look into the allegations, the stir was called off in January. Brij Bhushan was at that time stripped of all administrative powers by the sports ministry.
The wrestlers resumed their sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on April 23, citing a delay from the government in releasing the report of the committee.