Why are we not surprised? In the latest episode of the tawdry saga that is the wrestlers vs Wrestling Federation of India, Vinesh Phogat, one of the grapplers demanding the removal of WFI president and BJP politician Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has claimed that a member of the probe committee is leaking ‘sensitive information’ to the press.
The development comes close on the heels of United World Wrestling, the sport’s global governing body, rescinding India’s hosting rights for the upcoming Asian Championships, which were scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 28 March through to 2 April.
Phogat, meanwhile, has demanded strict action be taken against the as yet unnamed sportsperson.
It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who is the guilty party though. For the record, the five-member Oversight Committee that was set up by the Union Sports Ministry to probe sexual harassment charges against Brij Bhushan is led by boxing great MC Mary Kom. The other four members of the panel are Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player and Mission Olympic Cell member Trupti Murgunde, ex-TOPS CEO Rajagopalan and former SAI executive director – teams – Radhika Sreeman.
It is also worth noting that the probe committee has had NOTHING to offer till date by way of developments in its investigation.
In a lengthy post on Twitter, Phogat said that a certain member of the oversight committee has allegedly leaked the contents of the complaint to the media. Phogat also questioned the ‘attitude of the person against women’.
Phogat wrote: “It has come to my recent awareness that a sportsperson member of the Oversight Committee has been allegedly leaking contents of the complaint of sexual harassment while reading certain media reports since yesterday. Being a sports person it is extremely disheartening to see a fellow sports-person member of the Oversight Committee has behaved so recklessly. Their attitude towards women is evident from such behaviour.
“It is even more appalling that this sportsperson is a member of both the committees enquiring upon the sexual harassment allegations against high-ranking office bearers of the WFI. All this has placed great mistrust towards the committee proceedings. | am feeling let down at the not just weak but also strategic attempts of this committee member towards what should have been a fair and just investigation. I request that strict action be taken against the member for using his position in such a manner and that they should be immediately removed from the committee.
“The concern is not limited to the proceedings of this investigation itself as I’m sure that the former President is finding support from this member. This member has been acting against the interest of women from day one. The lack of empathy and insensitivity displayed by this sportsperson was shocking during the proceedings of the committee. I request this matter to be investigated and all necessary actions to be taken immediately.”
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