Sakshi Malik alleges threat from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s aides

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 3

On a day when junior wrestlers took to the streets blaming prominent wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat for having lost an entire year without competition, Sakshi claimed that she was receiving threats from former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s supporters.

Sakshi raised these concerns at a press conference around the time when junior men and women wrestlers protested at Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against them.

“I just want to say that the government is responsible for our security. We have faced propaganda and allegations ever since we started this fight against Brij Bhushan. Either make it about Haryana versus Uttar Pradesh or our families become the target,” Sakshi told the media on Wednesday.

“I also want to say that I have noticed that a few persons, who may be part of Brij Bhushan’s IT cell, have been humiliating us on social media. I want to tell them you have daughters and mothers at home so please do not indulge in such acts,” she added. When quizzed about whether she or any in her family had registered a complaint with the police, Sakshi said they would do so in the coming days.

“My mother got calls and we will take action over the threats that suggest that a case will be registered against someone in my family. We fought for justice and safety of our girls but we are being threatened and this is sad,” she said.

Sakshi also claimed that their protests could not be blamed for the predicament of the junior wrestlers who lost out an entire year due to disruption brought about by the protests.

“We are being blamed for junior wrestlers not getting competitions. This is not right. I have given 18-20 years to wrestling. No one knows what I have experienced in these months,” she said.

The Rio Olympics bronze medallist said they would agree to anyone other than Sanjay Singh as head of the WFI as he was not acceptable.

“We all saw how he (Brij Bhushan) behaved when the results were announced. A lot of girls were scared after his ‘dabdaba’ stunt. If the Sports Ministry is saying Sanjay will not be allowed to continue, we are fine. I am okay with anyone except him,” she said.

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