India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has suspended the newly elected governing body of the scandal-hit wrestling federation, accusing it of flouting rules by hastily announcing the championships.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) “has been instructed to suspend all its activities until further orders,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Following the suspension, the ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an interim panel to run the WFI, Indian media reported.
“Given the compelling current situation resulting from the influence and control of former WFI officials, serious concerns have been raised about the governance and integrity of WFI,” the paper said, according to reports.
The suspension of the WFI governing body comes days after Sanjay Singh was elected to replace his close ally Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.
Many of India’s top wrestlers led a vociferous protest in New Delhi earlier this year demanding the removal of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after the allegations came to light in January.
The accused 66-year-old MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied all the allegations and claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy to oust him from Parliament.
He is currently on trial and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Wrestling is hugely popular in rural North India and star athletes have seen a wellspring of public support.
Earlier this week, top wrestler Sakshi Malik, also one of the accused in the case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, gave an emotional press conference to announce her decision to quit the sport due to the election of Sanjay Singh.
On Friday, Bajrang Punia, the first Indian wrestler to win four World Championship medals, announced he would return his Padma Shri — India’s fourth-highest civilian honor — to protest the election.
The new president defeated Anita Sheeran, who won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and supported the athletes’ campaign against her predecessor. He is also a witness in the case.
The WFI election was supposed to end the federation’s suspension by international governing body United World Wrestling, but that is now unlikely with the government order.
Sanjay Singh won the vote on Thursday and shortly afterwards met the former boss before announcing that the national junior wrestling championship would be held by the end of the year.
