New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the police detention of wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar here on Sunday and called their act “grossly wrong.”
Delhi Police on Sunday detained Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia after they breached the security cordon moving towards the new Parliament building for a women’s ‘Mahapanchayat.’
Kejriwal retweeted a video shared by Malik that showed wrestlers being dragged by police to a detention van after a lengthy scuffle.
“Such treatment to the sportsperson who brought laurels to the country is grossly wrong and condemnable,” he wrote.
A section of Jawaharlal Nehru University students on Sunday alleged that the varsity authorities “prevented” them from taking part in the ‘Mahila Maha Panchayat’ by ramping up security on campus.
There was heavy police deployment on the campus, the students added. No immediate response was available from the police or the university.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) claimed that an “undeclared Section 144” has been imposed on the campus.
“Today, the Mahila Panchayat was announced. Heavy police deployment has been made inside and outside Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to prevent students from participating in it. The government has deployed its entire machinery to protect sexual violence accused,” said AISA activist Madhurima Kundu said. She also shared a photograph of over half a dozen women police personnel on the campus. Kundu alleged that she was physically restrained as soon as she stepped outside the main gate.
Jantar Mantar turned into a scene of chaos when Vinesh Phogat and her cousin Sangeeta Phogat tried to breach the barricades and as police tried to contain the breach with a lot of shoving and pushing.
Immediately after the wrestlers were pushed into buses and taken to an unknown location, police began clearing the protest site by removing cots, mattresses, cooler fans, the tarpaulin ceiling, and other belongings of the wrestlers. The agitating wrestlers, who include Olympic medallists Punia and Malik and Asian Games gold winner Phogat, have been demanding the arrest of outgoing Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accusing him of sexually harassing several women grapplers.