Athletes and their guardians trust Wrestling Federation: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

New Delhi: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, chief of Wrestling Federation of India and BJP MP, on Sunday said that the wrestlers who raised allegations of sexual harassment against him are all from one family and the same akhada(wrestling arena).

Sharan Singh claimed, while protest against him at Jantar Mantar gained wide attention, that 90 per cent of athletes and their guardians trust the wrestling federation.

Since April 23 India’s leading wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia have been protesting demanding criminal action against Singh for alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of wrestlers including a minor, Times of India reported.

Meanwhile, news agency ANI reported Sharan Singh as saying that ‘these women are from the Mahadev Wrestling Academy and (Congress leader) Deepender Singh Hooda is the patron of that akhada.’

Sharan Singh asked protesting wrestlers to approach the police or court if they were seeking justice, rather than ‘ abusing’, adding that ‘ we will accept whatever the court decides’.

However without giving specifics, he said that protesters are now speaking against PM Modi, adding that it should be taken note as they are also employees of the Indian Railways.

As for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav not showing up at the protest site, he said that Yadav ‘knows the truth’.

"Akhilesh Yadav knows the truth. We know each other since childhood. 80 per cent of the wrestlers in Uttar Pradesh belong to families with Samajwadi Party ideology. They call me 'Netaji'. They say how their Netaji is," he reportedly said.

Priyanka Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal are among the opposition leaders who have visited wrestlers at Jantar Mantar to express solidarity, according to NDTV.