Bajrang Punia leaves Padma Shri award on Kartavya Path pavement after police stops him

Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Friday stopped by Delhi Police at Karthavya Path in Central Delhi. Bajrang was on his way to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to return the Padma Shri award amidst the ongoing controversy involving former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The star wrestler then walked away leaving the award on the pavement. This comes after Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh was announced as the new WFI president on Thursday.

Bajrang Punia was part of protests by wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations against him. “As I have said earlier we were fighting for our daughters and sisters. I could not get justice for them. Due to this, I think I do not deserve this honour. I came here, the police personnel picked up both the letter and the Padma Shri medal.