Phogat episode: Judicial enquiry sought into 'mental harassment' of women wrestlers

Counterview Desk 

The advocacy group, Peoples’ Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS), which includes prominent academics, jurists, erstwhile administrators, trade unionists and social activists, has demanded independent judicial enquiry into the entire women wrestlers issue against the backdrop of one them (Vinesh Phogat) had to get disqualified from Olympics on a "flimsy ground",  another had to leave the Olympic village and Paris on "disciplinary grounds."

Claiming that Phogat was disqualified "without any visible intervention by the sports authorities of India" a PCPSPS statement accuses the political leadership for soft-pedalling the investigation into sexual harassment accusations made by women wrestlers, underlining, this led to "the mental trauma to which" they had been subject to, leading to "its far-reaching impact, as presently being seen in the ongoing Olympics in Paris."

Text:

Earlier, on June 10th and June 28th 2024, we issued statements on the manner in which the senior political leadership, for short-term political gains, allowed India's women wrestlers to be subject to harassment, giving an impression that investigation into the serious POCSO accusations made by some of them against some erstwhile office bearers of the WFI had not been expedited as they ought to have been, and subjecting those women wrestlers to police high-handedness, mental harassment and unimaginable indignities. 

The following is an extract of an earlier statement of ours:

“If the investigation, in this case is allowed to be influenced by the political leadership, as seems to be the case at present, the interests of the women wrestlers are likely to get compromised. As a nation, we are responsible for supporting the women wrestlers, who brought glory to our country, to enable them to pursue their profession with dignity and self-esteem. We feel that this can be ensured only if the Delhi police is fully insulated from political interference and ensures that the investigation proceeds strictly in compliance with the law of the land. We feel that this will be possible only if the investigation is subject to monitoring by a sitting or a retired judge appointed by the apex court. In conclusion, we are constrained to express our dismay and distress at the inexplicable silence on the part of the senior leadership at the way the investigation has progressed till now and the distressing manner in which the women wrestlers who have brought glory to the nation have been forced to resort to public agitation seeking justice. We sincerely hope that the political leaders in power today ponder over what Mahatma Gandhiji said, “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.” 

Failing to get any response from the highest political leadership, the women wrestlers had to sit in dharna, which in itself was a sure sign of failure of governance of different agencies of the government and their insensitivity to the complaints made by the women wrestlers in particular and womankind in general.

The wrestler was disqualified from Olympics on a flimsy ground, without any visible intervention by sports authorities of India

The mental trauma to which the women wrestlers had been subject to has had its far-reaching impact, as presently being seen in the ongoing Olympics in Paris. While one senior woman wrestler had to get disqualified from Olympics on a flimsy not-so-convincing technical ground, without any visible intervention by the sports authorities of India, another had to leave the Olympic village and Paris on disciplinary grounds. While we do not wish to comment either way on accusations emerging on possible mismanagement, deliberate or otherwise, of matters relating to women wrestlers, we certainly wish to say that had those in authority at the Centre acted promptly on the accusations made by some of them and dealt with their concerns in a sensitive, constructive manner, the nation would not have witnessed today the sad spectacle of women wrestlers being forced to forfeit the honours they deserve and the nation being deprived of sharing their glory.

As concerned citizens, we demand an independent enquiry by a Commission headed by a senior member of the judiciary into the whole range of developments starting from the day the women wrestlers expressed their concerns for the first time about the role of the erstwhile office bearers of WFI till now with special reference to the unfortunate goings in the Paris Olympics with special reference to the mental anguish they have had to go through all along. The Commission so appointed should have the mandate to investigate the role of all agencies of the government, either directly or indirectly concerned with the matter relating to the women wrestlers, including senior public functionaries and fix responsibility for the harassment and mental trauma to which the women wrestlers have been subject to, culminating in the sad goings on in Paris Olympics today.