Charge sheet by June 15, WFI polls by June 30: Thakur

NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said a chargesheet in the case into the allegations of sexual harassment against outgoing WFI chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh will be filed by June 15.

Addressing a press conference after a marathon meeting with the protesting wrestlers, Thakur also assured that the elections to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will be held by June 30.

Noting that the government has accepted every demand of the wrestlers, he said WFI will also have an internal complaints committee, headed by a woman.

Thakur said the wrestlers had also demanded the withdrawal of cases against various academies and sportspersons as well as not allowing Singh and his associates to participate in the election process.

“All these issues were agreed by consensus,” the sports minister said.

Asked about the wrestlers’ demand for Singh’s arrest, Thakur said the investigation into the case will be completed and a charge sheet will be filed by June 15.

This was the second meeting between the government and protesting wrestlers in a span of five days.

The wrestlers had met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night and apprised him of their demands.

The reason for the headway has been the hectic parleys over the last five days. While the police investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment continued, with the next court hearing scheduled for June 27, the breakthrough came days after a delegation of wrestlers met Shah at his official residence last Saturday. Although the meeting — which was a hushed affair — remained inconclusive, sources said it set the stage for talks with Thakur.

Wednesday’s meeting between the wrestlers and the government was the third in less than two weeks. But this time, there was one big difference – the government publicly invited the wrestlers for talks.