The TLDR: The arrest of the two-time Olympian—Sushil Kumar for murder exposes the seedy side of Indian wrestling—and the darker influences of bullying, nepotism and gang violence.
The Indian dream:
The ultimate ‘pehelwan-ji’: After he medaled at the 2012 London Olympics, Kumar became a bona fide sports icon—and soon after acted like one. As a Mumbai Mirror reporter observed in 2018:
“There are several things that one learns when one is chasing Sushil Kumar. One of them is that he is a lot like a rumour; promised meetings with him never materialise. Two, calling him by his name elicits frowns from those who revere him; ‘Pehalwanji’ is much better, thank you.”
Adding to his power: Kumar is married to the daughter of his coach, Satpal Singh—a former wrestling great and a powerful figure in the sport’s establishment. Singh ran the wrestling program at Chhatrasal Stadium, and the School Games Federation of India (SGFI). In 2016, he stepped down from SGFI, only to be replaced by his damaad as president—a position Kumar continues to occupy despite repeated instances of corruption and mismanagement. Thanks to Singh’s influence, Kumar is also an Officer on Special Deputation at Chhatrasal—where he is regarded with fear:
“Sushil… calls the shots. If you won’t listen to him or do as he suggests, he would quietly start harassing you… People are scared to say anything. They come to make a career, not to indulge in politics. So they found it [more] convenient to leave than [to] tolerate the stadium politics.”
Point to note: At Chhatrasal, Kumar was treated like god, literally:
“Adjacent to a Hanuman statue at the entrance of the wrestling hall are two giant pictures of Sushil. The young pehelwans followed a daily ritual: first seeking the Lord’s blessings and then touching their idol’s feet.”
Allegedly so. Here’s how it went down:
Deep ties that bind: The sport of wrestling in Indian villages is often a trusted way to keep young men safe from the lure of violence and crime. And yet once they become professional wrestlers these men are often in high demand as hired muscle for gangs and politicians. Many become bodyguards and henchmen for shady MLAs, or worse, hitmen and gang leaders.
A senior Delhi police officer told Indian Express:
“This is more or less true of the whole of Northern India. Pehelwans who control akharas become powerful as they are courted by politicians and criminal and unscrupulous elements of society as they have, under their tutelage, young wrestlers who can be used for achieving their objectives.”
In other words, gang connections are part of the DNA of the Indian wrestling world.
Ties to Chhatrasal: A veteran crime reporter says the stadium itself is a hub of gang activity:
“It isn’t only a wrestling hub… In the mid-90s, Delhi Police was on the lookout for a mafia in extortion cases. It turned out he was handing over prizes at Chhatrasal Stadium along with Satpal. A lot of criminals from the outer Delhi region have sought refuge inside the stadium.”
Ties to Kumar’s friends: One of Kumar’s buddies arrested for participating in the attack has well-established ties with a Haryana-based gang—and the police found several guns in his possession. And cars of others involved—recovered in the vicinity—are registered in the name of known criminals as well.
Direct ties to Kumar: A number of news reports suggest that—as his wrestling career began to wane—he expanded into other businesses. These included contracts to run the toll plazas on major highways in and around Delhi—which he allegedly secured through his gang connections. There have also been a number of murky incidents in his career—including the time when a rival wrestler Parveen Rana was assaulted by goons after a match. Interestingly, this is what Rana said after that attack:
“Sushil and his long time coach and father-in-law Satpal Singh have got together a gang comprising wrestlers from Satpal's 'akhada' many of whom man toll booths along the Delhi-Haryana border. I have to pass some of those booths when I go to training. They may attack me again.”
All of which offers a whole new perspective on both wrestling and toll booths.
Ties to the victim: Dhankar’s friend Sonu—and one of the victims of the attack—is a contract killer (?!) implicated in 19 cases of murder, extortion and robbery. Some reports suggest that when Kumar went on the run, he was less afraid of the police than of Sonu’s uncle Kala Jathedi, a Dubai based criminal on the most wanted list.
Irony alert: When Kumar went on the run, the Wrestling Federation of India officials were greatly concerned about its impact on the reputation of the sport. But the president of WFI is none other than Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, who “has faced charges that range from rioting to murder. In 1996, he was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and spent time in jail in the 1990s for harbouring members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.” Yeah, you can’t make this shit up.
The bottomline: Lift a rock and the same nasty worms come crawling out: Crime, corruption and politics.
Indian Express offers two good reports: one on the seamy side of Chhatrasal and the other a profile of Dhankar. Times of India has the most details on the gang angle to this killing, and Kumar’s 18-day run. NewsClick has a very good essay on the temptations and pitfalls of being a young wrestler. The Print has the most details on the actual attack. Mint has a good op-ed on the culture of wrestling. ESPN has a solid profile of Kumar’s golden career and reputation.
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