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Video Producer/Editor: Aparna Singh
Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia halted their plan to immerse their medals in the Ganga river in Haridwar on Tuesday, 30 May, and gave a five-day ultimatum to the Centre to arrest Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual assault allegations against him.
The wrestlers had arrived in Haridwar on Tuesday to immerse their medals in the Ganges. However, they were requested not to do so by farm leader Naresh Tikait.
This comes two days after the wrestlers were allegedly manhandled and detained at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar, during their march towards the new Parliament building.
Delhi Police filed an FIR against the protesting wrestlers on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, and others. The police also cleared the protest site.
"These medals are our life and soul. We are going to immerse them in the Ganga. After that there is no point of living, so we will sit on a hunger strike until death at India Gate," the statement read.
In their statement, wrestlers said that they didn't know to whom they should return their medals.
"The President, who is a woman herself, sat barely two kilometres away and watched. She didn't say anything," they said. They further added that the prime minister, "who refers to us as daughters, did not even once show his concern."
The wrestlers have been seeking action against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan over allegations of sexual harassment. The police had appeared reluctant to file an FIR against Singh until the matter reached the Supreme Court – after which they registered two FIRs.
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