Won’t stop them, says Haridwar SSP on wrestlers’ plan to immerse medals in Ganga

Hours after the country’s top wrestlers who are on a protest to demand the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh announced a plan to immerse their medals in the Ganga, the Haridwar police said they will not stop the wrestlers from entering the district or immersing the medals.

Haridwar senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said: “The wrestlers are free to do anything. If they are coming to immerse their medals in holy Ganga, we won’t stop them. Neither have I received any such instructions from my senior officials.”

Singh said people do immerse gold, silver, and ashes in the Ganga and wrestlers can immerse their medals if they want to. About 15 lakh pilgrims visit Haridwar to take a holy dip in the Ganga on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra and wrestlers are welcome too, Singh added.

The wrestlers have been protesting since April 23 demanding the arrest of WFI chief and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment of players, including a minor. On Sunday, the police detained several of them as they started marching towards the new Parliament building. Police also forcibly dismantled the tents at the protest site, and booked the organisers of the wrestlers’ protest on charges of rioting and unlawful assembly.

In identical statements shared on Twitter on Tuesday, wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat said that the grapplers will go to Haridwar and immerse their medals in the Ganga at 6pm.

“These medals are our lives, our souls. There would be no reason to live after immersing them in the Ganga today. So, we will start a hunger strike until death at India Gate after that,” the statement in Hindi said.

Ganga Sabha president Nitin Gautam said the authorities had not informed them about the wrestlers coming to Haridwar today. “Lakhs of pilgrims are in Haridwar today. We are looking into the management and performance of Ganga Saptami rituals,” he said.

Satpal Brahamchari of Haridwar’s Radhe Krishan ashram said: “It’s unfortunate for our democracy and field of sports as top wrestlers of our country are forced to put their hard-earned medals in Ganga”.

Teerth Maryada Raksha Samiti convener Sanjay Chopra said the wrestlers shouldn’t violate any provision to maintain law and order. Chopra said the wrestlers should wait for the police probe to complete and further legal action “instead of turning their protest into a media attention-garnering event”