46% Agree With the Wrestlers’ Decision to Protest Singh’s Arrest

A group of Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, were detained for their involvement in a protest against the alleged sexual abuse of female athletes.

The protest was reportedly against the Indian Wrestling Federation’s (WFI) former president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and his involvement in the sexual abuse of female athletes. The protests demanding Singh’s immediate arrest began in January, after which the sports ministry stripped him of all administrative powers. Eventually, the protests were withdrawn, seeing as Singh was stripped of all authority.

However, on April 23, the protests resumed and have continued since, demanding Singh’s arrest. Finally, the protests led to the arrest of Indian Olympic medalists. This sparked nationwide criticism.

Highlights

Real Research, an online survey app, conducted a survey on the arrest of Indian Olympic wrestlers to gauge public opinion. The following are the highlights of the survey findings:

• 46.3% somewhat agree with the wrestlers’ decisions to protest against the Indian Wrestling Federation’s president, Brij Singh
• 47.97% felt the arrest of Indian Olympic wrestlers was highly justified as they were involved in rioting and unlawful assembly
• 60.02% believed Singh should be arrested for the sexual allegations 

The survey first sought to understand the respondents’ level of awareness about the arrest of Indian Olympic wrestlers; 34.51 were well aware, 32.8% were vaguely aware, and 32.69% were unaware.

Filing Cases Against the Olympic Medalists– Justified?

Accordingly, respondents were asked if they agreed with the wrestlers’ decision to protest, demanding Singh’s arrest. 46.3% agreed, 33.99% strongly agreed, 16.64% somewhat disagreed, and 3.0% strongly disagreed.

Visuals of the arrest of Indian Olympic wrestlers being dragged and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism in society. They were arrested on grounds of “rioting, assembling unlawfully, and obstructing public servants from doing their jobs.” The survey asked if the arrest of the athletes on these grounds was justified, to which 47.97% said it was highly justified, somewhat justified (34.23%), somewhat unjustified (11.9%), and highly unjustified (5.9%).

In a tweet, Malik also said, “It took seven days for the Delhi Police to register an FIR (first information report) against sexual harasser Brij Bhushan, and it didn’t even take seven hours to register an FIR against us for peacefully protesting.” By this, Malik was insinuating that the police were too slow to act on a complaint against an influential sexual abuser.

Respondents were asked if they agreed with the above sentiment; 43.6% agreed, 20.3% disagreed, and 36.1% were unsure.

Other Leaders Criticizing the Police’s Actions

Adding to the matter, several leaders, such as Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, criticized the police’s arresting the wrestlers. The survey then asks respondents if the police could have handled the matter better. In response, 40.25% say probably, while 26.87% say definitely. 26.55% are probable that they could not have handled it any better, with 6.33% definite about the same.

Should Singh Be Arrested for the Sexual Allegations?

The survey then asks if Singh should be arrested, given the sexual offenses filed against him. 60.02% said he definitely should, 33.79% said he probably should, 4.87% said he probably should not, and 1.32% said he definitely should not be arrested.

Stance on the Arrest of Indian Olympic Wrestlers

Finally, when asked about their stance on the arrest of Indian Olympic wrestlers, 34.9% said they supported the wrestlers, 32.73% opposed the arrest, and 32.37% felt unsure.