Vinesh Phogat returns Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards, leaves them at Kartavya Path
New Delhi(PTI): Multiple World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat on Saturday returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, keeping the two awards lying in the middle of national capital's Kartavya Path after Delhi Police stopped her from reaching the prime minister's office.
On Tuesday, the Asian Games gold medallist grappler had decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government, saying such honours have become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice.
Phogat had announced her decision in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Saturday, she attempted to reach the prime minister's office to return her awards but the police prevented her from reaching the PMO.
As a mark of protest, she left the awards at the Kartavya Path and they were later picked up by Delhi Police.
Phogat, along with Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had been accused of sexual harassment by the three well-known grapplers.
Sakshi had also announced her retirement from wrestling soon after Sanjay Singh's appointment as WFI Chief.
However, the Sports Ministry had later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions while asking the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.
In her letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), Phogat had said that their lives are not like those "fancy government advertisements" that talk about women's empowerment and upliftment.
Acting on the sports ministry directive, the IOA on Wednesday constitued a three-member ad hoc committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the WFI.
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Armed robbers kill two security guards in Bidar, loot Rs 93 lakh cash meant for ATM
Bidar (PTI): Bike-borne armed robbers shot dead two security guards before decamping with Rs 93 lakh cash meant for filling the SBI ATM in the district headquarters town of Bidar on Thursday, police said.
Police identified the deceased as Giri Venkatesh and Shiva Kashinath. They were the staff of CMS Agency. The staff had come to the ATM located on the busy Shivaji Chowk to fill the cash at 11.30 am, they said.
Sources said the robbers fired eight rounds to execute their crime. Soon after the incident, police rushed to the spot and barricaded all the roads nearby. Police have formed teams to nab the culprits.
