Mary Kom to Head Oversight Committee to Probe Allegations Against WFI Chief

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announced on Monday that boxer Mary Kom will be heading the oversight committee formed to probe into the allegations levelled against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other coaches.

"Oversight Committee has been formed today. Mary Kom will head the Oversight Committee. For the coming month, the committee will investigate the allegations put up by the wrestlers," Thakur told the media in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, speaking to reporters in Kolkata, Anurag Thakur said that the Centre has heard all the players pertaining to allegations levelled against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and added all the activities of the tournament were stopped immediately pending an inquiry by the probe committee.

"Assistant Secretary WFI was sacked and an oversight committee will begin an impartial probe so that everything gets clear," he added.

Meanwhile, the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) Annual General Body Meeting (AGM), which was supposed to start at 10 am on Sunday in Ayodhya, was called off amid the ongoing battle between the wrestlers and its governing body in the country.

The latest development comes after the central government on Saturday evening suspended WFI Assistant Secretary Vinod Tomar. Along with this, the activities of WFI were immediately banned till the completion of the investigation into the allegations of the wrestlers.

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After late-night parleys with the protesting star grapplers, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday night announced that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will 'step aside' from the day-to-day affairs of the WFI till the seven-member 'oversight committee' led by Olympian MC Mary Kom completes its inquiry into the allegations against him.

The probe committee has been given a mandate of four weeks to submit its report, the minister added.

The wrestlers, who were protesting at Jantar Mantar, called off their protest after a meeting with Union Sports Minister Thakur on Friday.

However, WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh refuted the allegations and claimed he would expose the 'political conspiracy' in a press conference in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda.

Singh had earlier denied all allegations against him and said that the protesting wrestlers should have approached the Federation earlier.
Singh also claimed that 97 per cent of wrestlers were with the WFI and those who were taking part in the protests were pressured to do so. He also vehemently denied any incident of sexual harassment.

(with inputs from ANI)

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