Vinesh alleged that a drunk policeman had assaulted her brother. She claimed that another police officer had shoved her and Sangeeta Phogat.
There was chaos at Jantar Mantar late in the night on Wednesday as India’s top wrestlers alleged that police had manhandled and abused them. The latest confrontation seemed to have started when the wrestlers tried to bring beds to the protest site.
The argument with the police reduced Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik to tears while Vinesh Phogat was seen arguing with the officials in a video that surfaced from the location.
Vinesh alleged that a drunk policeman had assaulted her brother. She claimed that another police officer had shoved her and Sangeeta Phogat.
VIDEO | "The area is filled with water and there was no place to sleep, so we thought of bringing the cots…," says wrestler Vinesh Phogat. pic.twitter.com/TWmqxdImlR
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 3, 2023
“Since it rained today, the streets are wet. That’s why we were trying to get a bed to the protest site. They’re abusing us. This is how they respect daughters,” Tokyo Olympics medallist Bajrang Punia told journalists.
Delhi police officials, however, said the police official was not drunk and that no protester was beaten.
जंतर-मंतर पर पुलिस द्वारा पहलवानों पर हमला जिसमें मेरे छोटे भाई दुष्यंत फौगाट का सिर फोड़ दिया गया है और एक अन्य पहलवान को भी चोट आयी है ये बहुत ही शर्मनाक है
— geeta phogat (@geeta_phogat) May 3, 2023
A senior police officer said, “There were a few men who tried bringing cots to the protest site. When policemen asked them about it, they got aggressive and the protesters joined them. They wrongfully restrained a policeman and accused him of being drunk. This is not true. Other officers are at the site and the situation is now under control. No protester was beaten up.”