The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has started preparations for the elections of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) which will be held on July 4. The WFI appointed former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar as the returning officer for the polls on Monday.
In a statement, the Olympic body said: “IOA has to take steps forward to conduct elections of the WFI Executive Committee and we are pleased to appoint you as a returning officer to conduct the elections of the WFI. You may consider appointing one assistant returning officer and other staff to assist in conducting the elections.”
The announcement came days after Sports Minister Anurag Thakur held a meeting with wrestlers protesting the outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The meeting was called by Thakur as he said in a tweet on June 6 that the government was “willing to have a discussion with the wrestlers."
The meeting with the minister was attended by Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Mallikh. In it, the grapplers put forth five demands including “free and fair” elections for the wrestling body.
Thakur later said that he had given his assurance that the probe against Singh will be completed by June 15, while the WFI elections will be done by June 30.
Wrestlers have been staging protests against Singh and demanding his arrest, accusing him of sexually harassing female athletes, including a minor.