Watch: Bajrang Punia leaves Padma Shri award on Kartavya Path pavement after police stops him

Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Friday stopped by Delhi Police at Karthavya Path in Central Delhi. Bajrang was on his way to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to return the Padma Shri award amidst the ongoing controversy involving former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The star wrestler then walked away leaving the award on the pavement. This comes after Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh was announced as the new WFI president on Thursday. Bajrang Punia was part of protests by wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations against him. “As I have said earlier we were fighting for our daughters and sisters. I could not get justice for them. Due to this, I think I do not deserve this honour. I came here, the police personnel picked up both the letter and the Padma Shri medal.

Punia expressed his disappointment and alleged that the government failed to keep their promise to wrestlers made during the protest. “We are not fighting against the government. The government failed to fulfil their promises and statements. We have already stated that Brij Bhushan is a powerful man and people who work under him are everywhere.”

Bajrang Punia earlier wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he is returning his Padma Shri as a mark of protest over the results of the WFI elections where Sanjay Singh, an aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was elected as the president. “I am returning my Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister. All I have to say is in this letter; this is my statement,” he said in a post on X. Sakshi Malik, who was one of the faces of the wrestlers’ protest against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations, on Thursday announced that she is quitting wrestling after Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president of the federation. Sakshi, distraught and emotional, broke down as she left the venue after addressing a press conference in the national capital after announcing her retirement. With ANI inputs