Wrestler Satender Malik assaults referee Jagbir Singh during CWG trials, gets life ban
New Delhi, May 17: In an unprecedented incident, Services' wrestler Satender Malik launched a physical assault on referee Jagbir Singh after losing the 125kg final during the Commonwealth Games trials, prompting the national federation to impose a life ban on him, here on Tuesday.
The Air Force wrestler was leading 3-0 with just a 18 seconds left in the deciding bout when Mohit effected a 'take-down' move and also pushed Satender out of the mat for another point.
However, referee Virender Malik did not award two points to Mohit for the 'takedown' move and gave only one point for the pushout.
The decision upset Mohit, who requested for a challenge.
Satyadev Malik, the jury for the bout, excused himself from the decision for the sake of impartiality, since he belonged to the Mokhra village from where Satender also comes.
Senior referee Jagbir Singh was requested to look into the challenge and with the help of TV replays, he ruled that Mohit should be given three points.
The score became 3-3 and remained like that till the end, and eventually Mohit was declared winner on criteria since he had scored the last point of the bout.
Satender lost his cool, walked across to Mat A where Ravi Dahiya and Aman were locked in the 57kg final, went straight to Jagbir, and began to assault him.
He first abused Jagbir and then slapped him, who lost his balance and fell on the ground.
The 57kg bout was stopped as the incident created a furore inside the KD Jadhav hall at the IG stadium. Hundreds of fans, officials and participants were shocked to witness a scene like that.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) officials managed to send Satender out of the hall and restarted the bout. Everything was happening right before the eyes of WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was sitting on the dias.
"We have imposed life ban on Satender Malik. The decision was taken by WFI President," WFI's assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI.
"The referees officiating that bout will also be called for an explanation that why points were not awarded to Mohit when it was clear that the take-down move was clean. Why did they let the situation go out of hand."
A visibly shaken Jagbir Singh said, "I had no inkling that he would do something like that."
A Class One referee since 2013, Jagbir added, "I had nothing to do with this bout. I had officiated the 97kg and 65kg finals and gave the ruling only after I was asked to do it."
"It's up to WFI what action it wants to take against him."
Satyadev Malik told PTI, "I wanted to stay away from the decision making since we live close by. In international wrestling also, if the wrestler is from India, a jury from India can't officiate that bout."
"So to avoid any situation where I am accused of bias, I stayed away. This is really unexpected because Satender is usually a very calm guy," Satyadev, who was also jury of appeal for the tournament, said.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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