Now they are the property of the government and don't belong to me
Bajrang Punia abandoned his Padma Shri on December 22, followed by Vinesh Phogat leaving her Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards on December 30 in protest. Awards seized under Delhi Police Act are now locked in station malkhana alongside drugs and weapons, with police uncertain about proper return procedures.
- Bajrang Punia left his Padma Shri on December 22 in protest
- Vinesh Phogat abandoned her Arjuna Award and Khel Ratna Award on December 30
- Three medals now locked in Kartavya Path police station malkhana
- Wrestling Federation of India was later suspended
Olympic wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat left their national awards on Delhi streets protesting WFI leadership, now stored in police custody with unclear return procedures.
The Kartavya Path police station in Delhi has an unusual problem. Locked in its storage room, sealed in an envelope and placed in a cabinet, are three of India's highest national honors: a Padma Shri, an Arjuna Award, and a Khel Ratna Award. They arrived there not through theft or loss, but through an act of deliberate protest by two Olympic wrestlers.
On December 22, Bajrang Punia, an accomplished grappler and Padma Shri recipient, walked to a footpath near Raisina Hills and left his medal behind. His gesture was a statement against the election of a close associate of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to lead the Wrestling Federation of India. Singh himself faces charges of sexual harassment brought by women wrestlers. Eight days later, on December 30, Vinesh Phogat attempted to reach the Prime Minister's office to lodge a similar protest. When stopped, she abandoned both her Arjuna Award and her Khel Ratna Award on the pavement of Kartavya Path.
Police officers who found the medals did what procedure demanded: they seized them as unclaimed property under Section 66 of the Delhi Police Act. The awards were catalogued, placed in a sealed cover, locked away in the station's malkhana—the storage facility where police keep confiscated weapons, drugs, and other evidence. For the past month and a half, they have sat there, their status uncertain, their future unclear.
The situation has created an unexpected headache for the Station House Officer. His ordinary duties—securing Raisina Hills, managing crowds at India Gate, directing traffic—now include the safekeeping of national honors. Police officials acknowledge the delicacy of the situation. "In malkhana, we cannot take any sort of risk," one officer explained. "In the past, we have seen many things getting misplaced from the malkhana of other police stations. Besides, anyone can replace them with a replica." The precautions are real: the medals are sealed, locked, and receiving extra attention.
But the procedural path forward remains murky. Normally, when police seize unclaimed property, they attempt to identify the owner, send an official notice, and wait for the person to apply for return with proof of ownership. This case, however, doesn't fit the template. The police know exactly who the awards belong to. The wrestlers know the police have them. Yet no formal intimation has been sent, no application process initiated. "We are aware that these awards belong to them," an official said, "so we are not looking for the owner. But we are waiting for them to get back their awards. We are discussing with the seniors about sending an intimation in the coming days."
Vinesh Phogat told The Indian Express that she has received no contact from Delhi Police. "I have returned my awards," she said. "Now they are the property of the government and don't belong to me. Regarding what they are doing with the awards, I have not got any intimation or call from anyone, including Delhi police." Bajrang Punia echoed the silence. No one has reached out to him either. "It is not our property, it's theirs because we took it from the government and then gave it back to the government," he said. "Now, if they are handing it back to the government or not, I have no idea. Only they know and the government should know."
The Wrestling Federation of India was eventually suspended, validating the wrestlers' core complaint. Yet the medals remain in limbo—not lost, not forgotten, but caught in a bureaucratic space where no one seems certain who should initiate the next step. The police station that guards the nation's capital now finds itself the custodian of a peculiar problem: how to return something that was given away as a refusal.
Notable Quotes
In malkhana, we cannot take any sort of risk and we are now taking extra care. In the past, we have seen many things getting misplaced from the malkhana of other police stations.— Kartavya Path police station official
It is not our property, it's theirs because we took it from the government and then gave it back to the government. Now, if they are handing it back to the government or not, I have no idea.— Bajrang Punia
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the police seize the awards in the first place? Couldn't they have just left them on the street?
The law required it. When property is found abandoned in a public place, police have to take it into custody under the Delhi Police Act. They couldn't ignore it.
But the police knew who the awards belonged to from the moment they picked them up. Why treat them like lost property?
That's the tension. The procedure for unclaimed property assumes you don't know the owner. Here, everyone knew. But the law doesn't have a category for "deliberately abandoned as protest." So the police followed the standard protocol.
Has anyone explained to the wrestlers how to get their awards back?
Not yet. That's the real problem. No formal notice has been sent. The wrestlers are waiting for the police to contact them, and the police are waiting for the wrestlers to ask. Meanwhile, the medals sit locked in a cabinet.
What's the actual risk of keeping them in a police storage room?
Misplacement, theft, or replacement with fakes. Police have seen it happen in other stations. These aren't ordinary items—they're irreplaceable symbols. The officers are genuinely concerned about that responsibility.
So who decides what happens next?
That's unclear. The police say they're discussing it with seniors. The government hasn't weighed in publicly. The wrestlers say it's the government's call now, not theirs. Everyone is waiting for someone else to move.