Sakshi Malik Reveals Sexual Harassment Ordeal in Memoir – Firstpost

Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik has revealed how former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh abused her in her memoir ‘Witness’. Sakshi, along with wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, launched a massive protest against Brij Bhushan in 2023, leading to the politician’s ouster from the WFI.

In the recently released book, Malik says she was just 19 when Brij Bhushan tried to molest her in his hotel room. This was after Sakshi won gold at the 2012 Asian Junior Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She was taken to Brij Bhushan’s room on the pretext of speaking to her parents who were on duty with the former BJP MP.

“Singh put me in touch with my parents. It seemed harmless. When I talked to them about my race and my medal, I remember thinking that maybe nothing untoward would happen after all. But right after I ended the call, he tried to harass me while I was sitting on his bed. I pushed him away and started crying,” Sakshi wrote in her book, according to the Times of India.

“After that he withdrew. I think he realized I wouldn’t go along with what he wanted. He started saying that he had put his arms around me ‘papa jaise’ (as a father would do). But I knew that wasn’t what it was. I ran out of his room crying, all the way back to mine.

Malik also said that she was also abused by a teacher in her childhood.

“I was also abused in my childhood, but I couldn’t tell my family for a long time because I thought it was my fault. My school teacher often harassed me. He would call me to his house for lessons at odd hours and sometimes try to touch me. I was afraid of going to school, but I could never tell my mother. This went on for a long time and I kept quiet about it,” she said.