Condemning the police action against the top Indian wrestlers demonstrating against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the United World Wrestling (UWW) has said it would suspend the federation if elections are not held within 45 days.
In a statement issued late Tuesday night, the world body also expressed “disappointment over the lack of results of the investigation so far” against Singh.
“UWW urges the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations,” the statement read.
The world wrestling body also requested the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Ad-hoc committee of the WFO about further information on the next elective general assembly and said that if the elections are not held within 45 days, then it will suspend the federation and thereby athletes will be forced to compete under a neutral flag.
“It is reminded that UWW already took a measure in this situation by reallocating the Asian Championship planned in New Delhi earlier this year,” it said in the statement.
The UWW also said that it would hold a meeting with the wrestlers to inquire about their condition and safety, and reconfirmed its support for a fair and just resolution to their concerns.
On Tuesday, the top wrestlers protesting against Singh visited Haridwar to immerse their medals in the Ganges in a sign of protest.
However, farmer leader Naresh Tikait along with other farmer and Khap leaders intervened and convinced the grapplers to hold off.
The wrestlers then handed over the medals to Tikait and issued a five-day ultimatum to the federal government to act on their demand.
While talking to the media in Haridwar, Tikait praised the athletes and said: “Because of them, we hold our heads high in the international sports arena. We will make sure they won't have to hang their head in shame.”
He also announced that a Khap panchayat would be organised to decide on a future course of action.
As per media reports, the Khap panchayat was scheduled to be held on Wednesday (May 31) but now it is scheduled to be held on Thursday (June 1) in the town of Sauram, in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
The meeting is likely to be attended by representatives of different khaps (village councils' bodies) and their heads from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
The top Indian wrestlers have been staging a protest at Jantar Mantar against the WFI chief, accusing him of sexually harassing female athletes, including a minor.
They were, however, detained on Sunday when they set off to march towards the new Parliament building to organise a “Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat” (women’s meet).
Police later removed protesters' belongings along with other things from the venue and said that if the grapplers sought permission to demonstrate, they would be allowed to stage a sit-in protest “at a suitable, notified place” other than Jantar Mantar.