Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday met the family of a Dalit teenaged girl, who immolated herself after being allegedly gang-raped in this district, and said perpetrators of such "barbaric" crimes must be severely punished.
Powerful khap leaders will meet at Jind town to decide the future course of action on the Jat agitation issue, even as security has been tightened in Hisar -- the epicentre of the movement on Friday in the wake of the threat by the protesters to block all roads to Delhi.
A record number of 634 sportspersons were on Friday cleared by the Sports Ministry to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, surpassing the 572 athletes in the last edition of continental showpiece in Jakarta in 2018.
'The khaps have taken a decision that on May 28, a mahapanchayat will be held under the leadership of women and youth near the new Parliament building. We've taken the decision because this is a fight for the integrity and respect of the womenfolk.'
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said they planned to meet President Droupadi Murmu and will hold another mahapanchayat in Haryana's Kurukshetra on Friday to discuss the next steps in the agitation.
Bajrang Punia along with the protesting wrestlers are stepping up their efforts to gather support in their fight against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan.
The protesting wrestlers refrained from immersing their medals in the river Ganges after being convinced by Khap and farmer leaders who sought five days to address their grievances.
The protesting wrestlers had also threatened return their medals and awards, including the Padma Shri, to the government after they were allegedly mistreated by the Delhi Police on Wednesday night.
The CBI move comes barely a week after Malik gave an interview to The Wire, in which he made critical remarks about the BJP-led Centre, especially regarding its handling of Jammu and Kashmir where he served as the last governor before the erstwhile state was bifurcated into Union territories.
The WFI, while announcing the trials on March 10-11, also included the names of Bajrang (65kg freestyle), Vinesh (55kg) and Sakshi (62kg), who had announced her retirement from the sport in "frustration" the day Sanjay Singh was elected president.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur asked protesting wrestlers not to take any step that would undermine sports.
The Maharashtra government has framed rules to prevent honour killings, 'khap panchayat' diktats, mob lynching as well as violence, and asked the director general of police to apprise personnel across the state force of their implementation, an official said on Friday.
Country's top wrestlers including Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, accused the WFI chief of sexual harassment and intimidation.
Agitated over arrest of its MLA for his alleged role in Muzaffarnagar riots, Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday lashed out at the ruling Samajwadi Party, accusing it of adopting a "pick and choose" approach by targeting political rivals and protecting its own leaders.
Claiming non-payment of salaries to anganwadi volunteers for three months in his three-page letter in Hindi, Sisodia continued to fire a salvo at Baijal, saying: "You are the Lt Governor of Delhi. You have also been an IAS officer, but I request you to stop seeing things through spectacles of an IAS officer."
The police had on Monday booked nine persons under Indian Penal Code section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
The veteran politician said he spoke to Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia on Tuesday night and promised to visit them at the protest site.
Kadian, who competes in heavy-weight category, reiterated that their fight is against the WFI chief and not against the government.
The committee advising the wrestlers have set a deadline for the arrest of the WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma on Thursday said she has sought an action taken report from the Delhi Police Commissioner on the complaints filed by the women wrestlers about alleged sexual harassment.
Vinesh clears way for Antim Panghal's inclusion
The protesting wrestlers on Friday formed two committees to advice them on the future course of action
Olympian Deepak Punia skipped the national trials, in Patiala on Saturday.
At the 'Sarva Jatiye Mahapanchayat', participants from Palwal, Gurugram and other nearby places took part, and it was decided that the yatra will resume from Nalhar in Nuh and then pass through Firozpur Jhirka's Jhir and Singar temples in the district.
The congregation was held at Jind's Kandela village with several khap leaders in attendance.
Wrestlers' protest take political colour, farmer leaders also support athletes
Bajrang Punia criticised Brij Bhushan for his comments on the medal won by the grapplers.
Wrestlers threaten Supreme COurt action over sexual harassment allegations against WFI President
The protesting wrestlers and their supporters marched to the Hanuman Temple in New Delhi and will also visit the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara.
While the wrestlers braved tough weather conditions, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu demanded custodial interrogation of WFI President.
He said the police is investigating the matter and further action will be taken once the inquiry report comes.
A few minutes after posting the statement, Vinesh and Sakshi tweeted that they are taking a break from social media for a few days.
Yogeshwar questions 'unfair' trial exemption given to 6 wrestlers by IOA ad-hoc panel
Bajrang Punia said they were ready to sacrifice medals as delivering justice to the victims would be their biggest medal.
'We are confident, we will win the fight for justice.'
The protesting wrestlers said late on Saturday evening that there was a lot of "pressure" to call off the Mahila Mahapanchayat they have planned in front of the new Parliament building.
'We request the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to get justice delivered as soon as possible because we as well as the nation are at a loss while we keep sitting here for the protest.'
The women's panel said it had come across several media reports about girls being auctioned off to settle disputes over loan repayments in Bhilwara.
IOA approached the Olympic Council of Asia, seeking an extension of the July 15 deadline for providing details of the country's wrestling squad for the Asian Games.
Azad, who had joined the protesting wrestlers at the Jantar Mantar on Monday evening but was asked to leave the venue at night by the authorities, returned to the site on Tuesday with his followers.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances