The Delhi Police have tightened security measures at the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi after an alleged scuffle between protesting wrestlers and police personnel, stated reports. The area has been barricaded, and a large police force has been deployed to the site.
Rajya Sabha MP, DCW chief, detained
Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader Deepender Hooda and Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal, along with around 15 others reached the location to support the wrestlers. They were too detained and taken to a nearby location in a bus. Some were reportedly raising slogans of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj had also visited the protest site to express his support for the wrestlers.
Altercation between wrestlers and Delhi Police
However, tensions between the protesters and the police escalated on May 3, when a scuffle broke out between the two sides, leading to injuries to some of the protesters.
The wrestlers alleged that they were manhandled by the police personnel, while the police claimed that a minor altercation occurred after AAP leader Somnath Bharti brought folding beds to the protest site without permission. Three people, including AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, were detained by the police following the incident.
In a video that was circulated on social media platforms, some of the protesters can be heard accusing a police officer of attacking two wrestlers under the influence of alcohol. The accused officer was seen sitting in the video, while the protesters alleged that his colleagues were mute spectators.
Why are wrestlers protesting?
The incident occurred during a protest staged by wrestlers demanding criminal action against Wrestling Federation of India Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, for the alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of seven female wrestlers, one of whom is a minor. The Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Singh on Friday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on a minor's complaint.
