Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra condemned the detention of wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Sunday, saying that he was saddened to see the visuals of police being forceful with the protesters.
“यह देखकर मुझे बहुत दुख हो रहा है | (I feel saddened to see this) There has to be a better way to deal with this,” he wrote on Twitter.
The wrestlers were detained for violation of law and order after they breached the security cordon while trying to move towards the new Parliament building for a planned women’s ‘Mahapanchayat’.
यह देखकर मुझे बहुत दुख हो रहा है | There has to be a better way to deal with this. https://t.co/M2gzso4qjX
— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) May 28, 2023
“Strongly condemn the way Delhi Police manhandled Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and other wrestlers. It’s shameful our champions are treated in this manner,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
“Democracy lies in tolerance but autocratic forces thrive on intolerance and quelling of dissent. I demand they be immediately released by police. I stand by our wrestlers.” Communist Party of India (Marxist) termed the police action as “shame on this Govt.” “Delhi Police have detailed women wrestlers! Medal winning wrestlers bundled into buses and detained for fighting sexual harassment while man accused will be sitting in new parliament building. Shame!”
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Another athlete Sreeshankar Murali too expressed his concerns and wrote on his Twitter, “Absolutely barbaric !! Our champions didn’t deserve this. As an athlete who dreams and works towards the Olympic glory, this picture would leave a very deep wound 😞”
Absolutely barbaric !!
Our champions didn’t deserve this. As an athlete who dreams and works towards the Olympic glory, this picture would leave a very deep wound 😞 https://t.co/HQNRyuAXXh— Sreeshankar Murali (@SreeshankarM) May 28, 2023
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the protest site at Jantar Mantar as wrestlers and police officers shoved and pushed each other when Vinesh Phogat, her cousin sister Sangeeta Phogat and Sakshi Malik tried to breach the barricades.
Vinesh provided a strong resistance against her detention and Sangeeta clung on to her cousin sister while lying on the road as the struggle continued for a few dramatic minutes.
The police officials dragged and lifted them into buses along with several other wresters and their supporters. The wrestlers were pushed into buses and taken to different unknown locations.