No Protests Allowed At India Gate: Delhi Cops To Wrestlers

New Delhi:

The iconic India Gate is out of bounds for sit-in protests, the latest setback to protesting wrestlers, who are headed to Haridwar to immerse their medals in Ganga, in protest against Wrestling body chief who they allege sexually harassed several women wrestlers.

After the medals immersion, the wrestlers had said they will sit on a fast-unto-death at India Gate.

“India Gate is not a protest site and we will not allow them (wrestlers) to protest there,” news agency PTI reported quoting a police source.

For any other protest site, the wrestlers will have to seek permission, said Delhi’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Suman Nalwa.

Earlier, the wrestlers were moved out of Jantar Mantar, the ground zero for protests. 

“These medals are our life and soul. We are going to immerse them in the Ganga because she is Maa Ganga. After that, there is no point of living, so we will sit on a hunger strike until death at India Gate,” said Sakshee Malikkh, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in a statement written in Hindi. The same statement was also shared by other protesting wrestlers. 

Ms Malikkh said the women wrestlers felt there’s nothing left for them in this country as the “system has treated them cheaply”.

On Sunday, unprecedented scenes of police dragging the Olympic and world championships medal-winning players were witnessed when the wrestlers and their supporters breached the security cordon ahead of their march towards the new Parliament building for the planned women’s ‘Mahapanchayat’.

The grapplers were detained and charged for rioting, unlawful assembly and obstructing a public servant from performing her duty.

The wrestlers have been protesting in Delhi since April 23, demanding the arrest of wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan, who is also a BJP MP.