Olympic bronze medallist Sakshee Mallikh, who led the fight against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief over sexual harassment allegations, has brought up fresh allegations against the newly-elected and subsequently suspended panel of president Sanjay Singh.
A month after the Centre suspended the newly-elected WFI chief Sanjay Singh, a close aide of sexual harassment accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and the entire WFI panel, Mallikh has accused that championships are being organised with fake certificates handed out to athletes.
Taking the matter to Union sports minister Anurag Thakur, she questioned how a suspended official was misusing the federation's funds, adding that the fake certificates will put sportspersons into duress in the future.
In a post on X, Sakshee Mallikh wrote, "The national wrestling championship organised by the Sports Ministry is to be held in Jaipur, but Sanjay Singh is illegally organising a separate national championship to assert his dominance and signing certificates."
"When sportspersons seek jobs on the basis of these certificates, they will face action even though they are not at fault. Action should be taken against Sanjay Singh," she further wrote.
Meanwhile, soon after the allegations were brought forth, the Union sports ministry acted swiftly to issue a stern warning to the suspended WFI president Sanjay Singh.
According to All India Radio News, the sports ministry warned Singh over the committee's claims regarding recognition from the government as well as absolutely baseless and mischievous claims of holding competitions.
This comes after Sanjay Singh had previously statedthat the WFI would conduct the Senior National Wrestling Championship 2023 in Maharashtra's Pune from January 29 to 31.
Last month, the WFI panel was suspended just days after elections were held following the hasly announcement of Under-15 and Under-20 nationals. The sports ministry said that the new body was working under complete control of former office bearers - referring to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The former wrestling body chief came under fire after several top female wrestlers of the nation came forward alleging sexual harassment, supported by the entire wrestling fraternity.
Following several delays due to the matter being in court, an election was held in December to form a new panel in which Sanjay Singh, a known close aide of Brij Bhushan, came to power as the new president.
In the wake of the shocking results of the elections, Sakshee Mallikh broke down announcing her decision to quit the sport in a media interaction. Days later, Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri in protest.
This prompted nation-wide uproar and led to the sports ministry suspending the wrestling body. "The new body has not followed the WFI constitution. The Federation stands suspended till further orders. WFI will not be taking care of day to day activities of wrestling," an official was quoted as saying.
