Mainstream media misreports that Sakhsi Malik withdraws from wrestlers protest.
Claim
Rating
Explanation
The wrestlers are protesting for a long time now demanding the arrest of BJP MLA and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Chief Brij Bhushan Charan Singh over sexual harassment case. The Delhi police has registered 2 FIRs so far against him including a complaint from a minor wrestler invoking POSCO Act after protesting. But no other action was taken against him so far. He denied all the charges and said he will hang himself if any of the allegations against him are proven.
Sakshi Malik withdraws from wrestlers protest, gets back to her govt job with Indian railways.
Looks like toolkit gang now have to do lot of explanation
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) June 5, 2023
Meanwhile, mainstream media including India Today, and BJP supporters and social media users claim that Sakshee Malikkh and Bajrang Punia have withdrawn from the protest and have joined their work with the Railways. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
What is the truth?
When searching the Twitter page of Sakshee Malikkh, we found that the claim that they have withdrawn from the wrestlers’ protest is fake. Her tweet dated 5, June 2023 is found carrying Aaj Tak breaking news card that conveyed “Wrestler Sakshi withdraws from the protest and joined Railways job after withdrawing from the protest”, which she denies.
The caption in Hindi denies the claim and is roughly translated as “This news is completely wrong. In the fight for justice, none of us has backed down, nor will we. Along with Satyagraha, I am fulfilling my responsibility in Railways. Our fight continues till justice is served. Please don’t spread any wrong news.”
आंदोलन वापस लेने की खबरें कोरी अफ़वाह हैं. ये खबरें हमें नुक़सान पहुँचाने के लिए फैलाई जा रही हैं.
हम न पीछे हटे हैं और न ही हमने आंदोलन वापस लिया है. महिला पहलवानों की एफ़आईआर उठाने की खबर भी झूठी है.
इंसाफ़ मिलने तक लड़ाई जारी रहेगी 🙏🏼 #WrestlerProtest pic.twitter.com/utShj583VZ
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) June 5, 2023
Bajrang Punia’s tweet dated 5, June 2023 mentions that the news of withdrawing the movement is just a rumour. He further mentioned that these news are being spread to harm them. It is also mentioned, “We have neither retreated nor have we withdrawn the movement. The news of women wrestlers raising FIR is also false. The fight will continue till justice is served.”
When searching to know if the wrestlers have rejoined their work in Railways, we found The Tribune article that reported that they joined their work last week and met Amit Shah on 3, June 2023, late Saturday evening. The article mentions that wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat have resumed their duties in the Railways, a spokesman of the Northern Railways has confirmed.
Youturn fact-checked multiple claims related to wrestlers’ protest and published articles on the same and can be read here.
Conclusion
It is found that none of the wrestlers have withdrawn from the protest as reported by India Today or as amplified by BJP supporters. The wrestlers’ tweets confirm that they are still protesting.
It is to be noted that they resumed their work with the Northern Railways last week. And they met Amit Shah two days back.
