Police in India detained two Olympic wrestlers during the latest protest against alleged sexual abuse of female athletes.

On Sunday, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik were among those attempting to march to Delhi’s new parliament.

Hundreds of police officers on duty for the building’s inauguration stopped them.

Protesters were seen climbing over barricades and being dragged away by authorities in video footage.

Vinesh Phogat, a two-time World Championship medalist, and her sister Sangeeta were also detained among the country’s finest wrestlers.

“This is wrong,” Ms Malik said to reporters after being placed on a bus by authorities.

“We were walking quietly when they dragged us and detained us without even telling us where we would be taken.”

“Our people are not being allowed to march,” Mr Phogat said, adding that demonstrators “requested with folded hands” that police release them and that they go peacefully.

The event occurred as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurating the new parliament building nearby, which has replaced the British-era structure.

The majority of opposition parties boycotted the ceremony after criticizing the administration for failing to invite President Droupadi Murmu, the country’s head of state, to open it.

Modi inaugurates India’s new parliament as wrestlers maintain their boycott of key officials.
Police reported that the protesting wrestlers had not followed their instructions and that those who attempted to break down the barricades had been apprehended.

“They broke the law,” said Dependra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police in Delhi.

“In terms of further action, we would determine which rules had been broken and then take appropriate legal action.”

The police also took tents and other objects from the protesters’ camp, where they had been camped out for weeks.

A number of opposition politicians have criticized their management of the march.

“Strongly condemn the way Delhi Police manhandled Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and other wrestlers,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress party tweeted.

“It’s disgraceful that our champions are treated in this way.”

Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Chief Minister of Delhi, called the police’s actions “very wrong and condemnable.”

Ms Malik, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic wrestling medal in 2016, later tweeted that if she and her fellow protestors were freed, they would resume their “satyagraha,” or nonviolent resistance.

Wrestling officials are accused of sexually harassing women in the sport, according to the protesters. Brij Bhushan Singh, the head of its governing board, disputes the allegations.

Their protests began in January but were called off the same month after the sports ministry stripped Mr Singh of his administrative powers and the government vowed to investigate their grievances.

In April, the wrestlers resumed their protests, calling for his arrest. They claimed earlier this month that Delhi police harassed and assaulted them.

The Indian Olympic Association formed a committee to look into the claims against Mr Singh, which delivered its report few weeks ago. The committee’s findings have not yet been made public.

On Sunday, police in Delhi were also on high alert as a group of farmers attempted to enter the city to show their support for the wrestlers. Earlier this month, dozens of farmers burst down police barricades in Delhi to join another demonstration.