Indian wrestlers march to call for the arrest and resignation of sports president accused of sexual abuse

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India’s top female wrestlers led a candlelight march of nearly 1,000 protesters in the capital on Tuesday demanding the resignation and arrest of the president of the wrestling federation for allegedly sexually harassing young athletes, one of whom was a minor.

Carrying India's national flag, they marched to India Gate, a monument close to the country's parliament building. A strong presence of police accompanied them on the marching route.

The protesters have been staging a protest in the center of New Delhi for nearly a month, amid a brutal heat wave, while foregoing their training schedules. Two Olympics medalists, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, are part of the protests and have threatened to hand back their medals if no action is taken against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

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The protests have grown with many members of opposition parties and farmer unions taking up the wrestlers’ cause. Most of the Indian wrestlers come from the northern agricultural states of Haryana and Punjab.

They accused Singh, a 66-year-old powerful lawmaker representing the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, of sexually harassing seven young female wrestlers.

Singh has denied the accusations and called the protests "politically motivated" by the opposition Congress party.

India's top female wrestlers and their supporters protest Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh in New Delhi, India, on May 23, 2023.  (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Vinesh Phogat, who has won wrestling medals at the world championships, Commonwealth Games and