The President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan, brushed aside the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by top Indian wrestlers, who staged a protest against him and the federation at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, saying, "I will hang myself if the allegations against me are proven."
Earlier in the day, renowned Indian wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had alleged that the WFI President had been sexually harassing female wrestlers.
"When I came to know that wrestlers protesting, I didn't know what the allegations were all about," Sharan told reporters.
"This is a conspiracy against me, and a big industrialist has a hand in it. When Vinesh Phogat had lost, it was me who motivated her," the WFI President said.
"I will talk to the players. I am ready to face any kind of investigation. Sexual harassment never happened. If even one athlete comes forward and proves this, I will hang myself," he added.
The 66-year-old also said that he would not step down as WFI President.
"All these allegations, I hope she (Vinesh) writes them down and sends them to me. I will reply to them. The rest can be investigated by the CBI or the police. This is a very big allegation," Sharan added.
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