Sushil back at his theatre of dreams, this time to recreate an alleged killing

The sprawling Chhatrasal stadium in north-west Delhi is where it all began for two-time Olympic medallist and world champion wrestler Sushil Kumar. This is where his wrestling career started in earnest, when, as a 12-year-old boy, he enrolled into the wrestling school run by Asian Games champion Satpal Singh in 1995. The stadium complex became Kumar’s home, and in a sense, he never left -- till he went on a 19-day run from the law on May 4, ending in his arrest by Delhi Police on May 23.

On Tuesday, the man who had made Chhatrasal India’s most iconic wrestling destination was led back to the stadium, flanked by police and forensic teams, to recreate the alleged killing of a 23-year-old wrestler called Sagar Dhankad.

The scene where Kumar had plotted his greatest triumphs on the mat was now a crime scene. For more than an hour, investigators questioned Kumar and collected evidence, based on what the police claim is footage of the crime recorded on the mobile phone of one of Kumar’s associates. Kumar’s associate Ajay Sherawat, who was with him when the wrestler was arrested, was also questioned at the scene.

On the night of May 4, Dhankad, who also trained at Chhatrasal, was beaten to death in a brawl involving two groups, one of which, according to the police, was led by Kumar.

Kumar and Sherawat were also taken to an apartment in Shalimar Bagh, where Dhankad and four other wrestlers lived. This, police said, is where the fight began. Kumar and his associates first assaulted Dhankad at the apartment, before driving off with him and two of his associates to Chhatrasal, police said. Police also accompanied the two to an apartment in Model Town that is believed to be the epicentre of the brawl that led to Dhankad’s murder. Dhankad used to live in the apartment, and Kumar’s wife is thought to be the owner.

On Monday, the first day of Kumar’s six-day-long police custody, the wrestler was questioned for roughly four hours at a stretch.

“He was asked to narrate the incident and disclose the whereabouts of his absconding associates who are also wanted for Dhankad’s murder. Who all were in touch with Kumar and were helping him and his other aides, is also being looked into,” said an officer who is part of the investigation.

The police also said that Kumar became emotional during the questioning.

Kumar and others have been charged with murder, attempt to murder, assault, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and under other relevant sections, including that of Arms Act.

The wrestler’s home

The wrestling school at Chhatrasal, Kumar, and Indian wrestling became synonymous over the years. When he won a bronze at the 2008 Olympics, becoming only the second Indian wrestler— after Kashabha Dadasaheb Jadhav in 1952 — to win an Olympic medal, it bought immediate fame to the school. Budding wrestlers thronged the centre.

“We used to have just a few trainees here, nothing out of the ordinary,” said a former Chhatrasal coach who had trained Sushil and who did not wish to be named. “After his medal, there was such a mad rush that we had to turn back hundreds of wrestlers.”

Along with the fame, the complex began to improve too. Before 2008, it had just one Olympic standard wrestling mat, and one traditional earthen pit. Wrestlers lived crammed in tiny, low-roofed housing directly under the stadium’s rafters. By 2012, when Kumar won his second Olympic medal -- a silver -- becoming the only Indian to win two individual medals at the Olympics, the stadium had undergone a massive transformation to house the hundreds of wrestlers who came to learn under Kumar. Now there were plenty of Olympic mats, a state-of-the-art gym and a constant buzz in training.

2012 was Chhatrasal’s year; Yogeshwar Dutt, who won a bronze at the London Games, was also a product of the school (and Kumar’s childhood training partner and friend). Another trainee from the school, Amit Dahiya, became the youngest wrestler from India to compete at the Olympics -- he made it to the quarterfinals.

Many more wrestling stars followed -- a superb second line that includes current Tokyo Olympic medal favourite Bajrang Punia. In fact, along with Punia, two other Tokyo-bound wrestlers — Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia — also learnt their wrestling at Chhatrasal.

“If there was a revolution in the sport in India, it was led by Kumar, from this very stadium,” said the coach quoted earlier. “Over here, he was simply “pehelwan” and everything happened with his knowledge. He was the driving force.”

Kumar rose to become an administrator at the Delhi-government run stadium that became famous because of him.

But despite the fame and the stature, or perhaps because of it, cracks also began to appear in the running of Chhatrasal’s wrestling school. By the end of 2012, Dutt and Kumar had a public fallout, resulting in Dutt leaving the centre and opening his own wrestling school. There were fallouts with coaches too, including one incident where a senior coach alleged that Kumar had assaulted him. The coach left and joined Dutt.

The gangster connection

The police are also investigating the involvement of gangster Kala Jathedi, whose name has surfaced in the brawl. According to the police Jathedi is at present based in Dubai and runs extortion rackets and other crime syndicates in north Indian states like Haryana, Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) and Rajasthan.

“The probe so far has revealed that Dhankad’s friend Sonu, whom Sushil Kumar and his associates had also thrashed on May 4 inside the stadium, is closely related to Kala Jathedi and has multiple criminal cases registered against him.

He is also listed as “bad character” of the area in police files. It looks like Kumar’s actions also left Jathedi outraged, which could be one reason for Kumar switching locations rapidly while he was on the run. Despite throwing away their cell phones and knowing that the use of a WiFi dongle would give away his location, Kumar may have done so to have the police reach him “sooner than Jathedi’s henchmen”,” said an officer who wished not to be named.