Wrestlers' harassment: Sports ministry suspends assistant secy WFI Vinod Tomar, cancels championship

Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), was suspended by the sports ministry on Saturday with sources saying that his presence will be "detrimental to the development of this high-priority discipline".

New Delhi:The Union Sports Ministry has suspended Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), a decision viewed as the fallout of the wrestlers' allegations of sexual harassment and corruption against the sports body's chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The ministry has also cancelled the Open championship, which was to begin in Sharan's UP stronghold of Gonda.

Quoting sources in the ministry, PTI reported that Tomar's presence will be "detrimental to the development of this high-priority discipline". Sources also said that the soon-to-be-formed oversight committee of the ministry will have the powers to take all decisions on matters concerning Indian wrestling. The development comes shortly after the Sports Ministry sources confirmed on Sunday that it will announce the names of its oversight committee members who will probe the allegations.

Earlier today, Tomar defended the WFI president against the serious allegations levelled against him by some of the top Indian wrestlers. “Don’t know what this is all about. However, we came to know from the letter to the WFI president that some wrestlers are sitting in protest. I have come to ask them about their problem,” Tomar told ANI earlier on Saturday. Tomar stated that once the wrestlers formally approach the Federation, all issues will be sorted out.

However, he claimed the protesting wrestlers still haven’t taken the Federation into confidence about their issues. “They haven’t yet told me what their grouse is. No issue has been raised with me or the Federation as yet,” he added. The tussle between the agitating grapplers and the WFI ended for the time being after the athletes called off their protest late on Friday night following assurances from the government, the first step of which was the temporary sidelining of Singh.

After the end of the marathon meeting, Thakur said that the government decided to form an oversight committee to probe the charges levelled by some of the country’s top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya. The names of the committee members were supposed to be revealed on Saturday.

“Sports Ministry will announce the names of the three-member oversee/probe panel on Sunday,” a source told PTI. According to sources in the ministry, there was a two-hour long meeting between Thakur, Chaturvedi and Pradhan. The committee will also oversee the day-to-day affairs of the federation.

Earlier in the day, the WFI rejected all the allegations, including that of sexual harassment against its president, and claimed that the wrestlers’ protest was motivated by a “hidden agenda to dislodge the current management”. The WFI denied all the charges in its response to the government’s notice and asserted that “there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement ” in the federation.

The Sports Ministry had sought an explanation from WFI after the country’s top wrestlers sat on a dharna and alleged that the federation chief sexually harassed women wrestlers and acts like a “dictator”. Before the aggrieved wrestlers agreed to end their protest, the Indian Olympic Association had on Friday formed a seven-member committee, headed by M C Mary Kom, to probe the charges against Sharan.

The IOA panel was constituted even as the wrestlers’ sit-in protest entered the third day. Besides legendary boxer Mary Kom and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, the panel includes archer Dola Banerjee and Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) president and IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav. The IOA committee also has two advocates — Talish Ray and Shlok Chandra — besides former shuttler and IOA joint secretary Alaknanda Ashok, who is its vice chairperson. (With agency inputs)