On Friday, December 22, Olympic medal winner Bajrang Punia stated, ‘I can’t live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women wrestlers are insulted.’
Punia’s attempt to return his medal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence was interrupted by Delhi Police on Kartavya Path. Undeterred, he left his Padma Shri medallion on a footpath, which the police picked up.
Later, Punia wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of India.