Indian wrestler par excellence, Vinesh Phogat, revealed that the grapplers have lost faith in the Oversight Committee set up to probe into the sexual allegation complaints launched against former WFI chief and BJP member Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.
Phogat said that her calls to the sports minister, Anurag Thakur and the head of the oversight committee, headed by legendary Indian boxer MC Mary Kom went unanswered.
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“Why is there secrecy over the findings of the Oversight Committee and the details about how they went about the probe?" Phogat said.
“Women wrestlers have shown the courage to speak about what they faced but it seems like their words don’t matter. We have raised a very sensitive issue which concerns the safety of women wrestlers. We have lost faith in the committee." the triple CWG gold medallist said.
Phogat also elucidated how the early assurances given by the oversight committee also went unfulfilled.
“We received some assurances from the government but they were not fulfilled too. We do not know the status of the report filed by the committee as well. Every time we ask what is the status and finding of the Oversight Committee report, there is no response from anyone," Phogat said.
Phogat expressed that repeated attempts by herself and ace wrestler Bajrang Punia to reach the oversight committee went without reply.
“We tried to speak to sports minister Anurag Thakur, but there was no response from him. I tried two to three times, and Bajrang did too. We tried calling members of the committee, including its head Mary Kom. But she did not take our calls. We don’t know who will give us justice?" Phogat questioned.
Phogat said that if the discoveries of the oversight committee were not made public and if the wrestlers’ testimonies weren’t given importance, the wrestlers have not other choice but to approach the court.
“We are left with no other option but to approach the court in our fight for justice. Stepping back is not an option now," Phogat added.
Besides MC Mary Kom, Olympic medallist-wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player Trupti Murgunde, former TOPS CEO Rajesh Rajagopalan, and former SAI executive director Radhica Sreeman, are the members that make up the Oversight Committee.
Phogat was also infuriated by the fact the National Senior Ranking Wrestling Tournament for Women and Greco Roman, slated to be held from April 16 to 18, was set to take place at Nandini Nagar in Gonda, a Brijbhushan stronghold.
“Of all the places in India, no other venue was available for a tournament for women?" Phogat questioned the decision to hold the tournament in Gonda.
“I can give names of possible venues in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi where the tournament could have been conducted," the 28-year-old said.
“Nandini Nagar in Gonda was chosen despite us saying what all had happened to women wrestlers earlier. How can this even happen?"
“When I saw that the venue of the senior ranking tournament was in Gonda, I did try to reach members of the Oversight Committee. But nobody seems to have any answer," said Phogat.
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Phogat opined that despite stepping aside from his role at the head of the WFI, Brijbushan was still pulling the strings from the background.
“He was sidelined just for show, internally he was involved in everything and all the decisions being taken were his. Be it trials or camps or selection of coaches," the wrestler from Balali said.
“Whether it was for political reasons or to fool us, we don’t know. We placed our trust in the government. Unfortunately, it feels the Oversight Committee haven’t been neutral. The committee is under the sports ministry."
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