Anurag Thakur open to having discussions with wrestlers
Anurag Thakur, the Union Sports Minister, stated that the Central government is open to having a "discussion" with the wrestlers who protested at Jantar Mantar for over a month and are demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh. The minister tweeted this late on Tuesday.
"The government is willing to have a discussion with the wrestlers on their issues. I have once again invited the wrestlers for the same," Thakur said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the wrestlers had also met Home Minister Amit Shah last week at his residence, but no fruitful outcome was reached.
On the other hand, the Delhi Police visited the house of Singh in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, earlier on Tuesday as part of the continuing investigation into the sexual harassment matter, and they took the testimonies of his friends and employees. "We visited Gonda as a part of the investigation and recorded the statements of Singh's associates and workers, including the driver at his house. The team checked their IDs and noted their addresses while recording the statements. We are collecting evidence and collaborating with victims' statements," said a senior police official privy to the investigation.
A report will be presented in court once all the material has been gathered, he continued.
The official said that the 17-year-old wrestler, whose complaint led to the establishment of a case against Singh under the POCSO Act at the Connaught Place police station in Delhi, has since made a new statement before the magistrate in court pursuant to Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The official declined to provide further information, stating that since the issue is extremely sensitive, only a limited amount of information may be disclosed.