Mary Kom to head oversight committee to probe allegations against WFI president Brij Bhushan

Mary Kom will head five-member committee which will probe allegations against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. AP

Legendary boxer Mary Kom will head the five-member oversight committee formed by the Indian Sports Ministry to look into the allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday.

The other members of the panel are Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player and Mission Olympic Cell member Trupti Murgunde, ex-TOPS CEO Rajagopalan and former SAI executive director – teams – Radhika Sreeman.

Brij Bhushan had been accused of sexual harassment by the country’s top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Ravi Dahiya. It all started with a protest by the top wrestlers, including the Olympics and World Championships medallists, on Wednesday (18 January) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Wrestlers vs WF: A timeline of events

The protest came to an end late Friday night (20 January) after Sports Minister Thakur gave wrestlers the assurance that government will address the demands of the wrestlers who also wanted WFI to be disbanded. In a joint press conference with the wrestlers, Thakur on Friday said an oversight committee will be formed to investigate the allegations and that Brij Bhushan will step aside as WFI president till the time the probe is on. He added that the probe will be completed in four weeks and that the committee will also run the day-to-day affairs of WFI till then.

“It has been decided that an oversight committee will be formed, names for which will be announced tomorrow. The committee will complete its investigation within four weeks. It will thoroughly probe all the allegations be it financial or sexual harassment that have been levelled against WFI and its chief,” Thakur said.

Mary Kom was earlier also named the head of the seven-member committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association to probe the allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan.

The IOA committee also includes former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, archer Dola Banerjee and Indian Weightlifting Federation of India (IWLF) president Sahdev Yadav besides two advocates — Talish Ray and Shlok Chandra — and former shuttler Alaknanda Ashok (vice chairperson for committee.)

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