The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has rejected all the allegations, including that of sexual harassment, levelled against its president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, and claimed that the wrestlers’ protest was motivated by a “hidden agenda to dislodge the current management”.

The WFI denied all the charges in its response to the government’s notice and asserted that “there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement “ in the federation.

The sports ministry had sought an explanation from WFI after the country’s top wrestlers sat on a dharna and alleged that the federation chief sexually harassed women wrestlers and acted like a “dictator”.

The WFI sent its reply on Friday evening and, a few hours later, the wrestlers called off their protest after the government announced that it will form an oversight committee to probe the charges. It also said the WFI chief will step aside till the investigation is over.

Late on Saturday, the sports ministry suspended WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar. The ministry also cancelled the Open championship, which was to begin in Sharan’s UP stronghold of Gonda.

Sources in the ministry said Tomar’s presence will be “detrimental to the development of this high-priority discipline”.

Sources also said that the soon-to-be-formed oversight committee of the ministry will have the powers to take all decisions on matters concerning Indian wrestling. The panel was formed to probe the charges levelled by some of the country’s top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya, against Sharan and his body.

“The WFI is managed by an elected body as per its constitution, and therefore, there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement in WFI by any one individually, including the president,” the WFI said in its response to the sports ministry.

“The WFI, in particular, under the sitting president has always acted keeping the best interests of wrestlers in mind,” it added.

The federation brought to the notice of the government that it has a five-member sexual harassment committee in place, chaired by its secretary-general VN Prasood and which also has Sakshi as a member.

It said the charges were “motivated, biased, unfounded, untrue and false” and that the allegations were made solely with a view to harm the president, the WFI and its coaches.

“Any aggrieved person/ wrestler may approach the said committee for its grievances if any, and the committee is bound to inquire as per law. However, no such complaint of any such nature as has been received from the protestors/wrestlers,” the WFI wrote, adding that vested interests are behind the agitation.