More than 1,100 citizens — including lawyers, academics, journalists, activists, former parliamentarians, ex-bureaucrats and various individuals — on Sunday issued a release in support of the wrestlers and their supporters who had been protesting at Jantar Mantar for over a month.
In a joint statement titled ‘Dismantle the structures of sexual violence, NOT the protesters’ tent!’, the signatories demanded the immediate release of all protesters as well as the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Mr. Singh faces sexual harassment charges by some female wrestlers and two FIRs have been filed against him, including one under the POCSO Act. The protesters at Jantar Mantar have been demanding his ouster and arrest.
Slamming the “brutal” police action and blockades of the city borders, the statement said, “This is how scared a patriarchal State is of the sight of the women of India standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. Despite this crackdown, the government was unable to block the flow of solidarity; activists and concerned citizens found ways of trying to reach the protest site.”
“But in a rerun of how people’s protests have been stifled in the past few years, many women have been taken into custody and many have been subjected to physical and verbal violence by the police,” it added.
The signatories said while the wrestlers were detained and their tents dismantled, the accused “remains scot-free”.
They added, “Fittingly for this anti-women regime, this is happening even as a new parliament building is being inaugurated by a Prime Minister whose ‘Beti Bachao’ slogan never rang hollower. This parliament belongs to all of us; it belongs to the women of this country, as does their right to demand justice!”
