Sushil’s criminal links expose wrestling’s dark, dirty secret

With the arrest of wrestler Sushil Kumar, questions are being asked how an Olympic medalist suddenly became the “bad boy” of Indian sports, with links to the mafia, despite Kumar getting a lot of respect and money. Even Abhinav Bindra did not get as much name, fame and money by winning the Olympic gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as Sushil Kumar got by winning a Bronze in the same event.

Till now, the perception was that “genuine wrestlers” in the country kept themselves focused and “limited to their sport”; that wrestlers who are seen with political parties or work as bouncers in clubs or pubs are actually not genuine wrestlers. Such wrestlers don’t have a medal that they can claim to have won in the national championship and most of them do not participate after their state championship. Many of them don’t even participate in any competition. But in the last two-three years, the situation has changed. Sushil Kumar’s alleged links to mafia elements point to the changed situation.

The story can be traced to Rambir Shokeen, a former MLA from Mundka. He was an independent candidate. Rambir was arrested in 2016. He escaped from jail and was caught again last year. A 9 mm pistol and some live cartridges were found from him. According to sources, Sushil Kumar came in contact with him after the London Olympics. Rambir Shokeen got Sushil Kumar to meet gangster Neeraj Bawana. Neeraj had been arrested in 2015 and sent to Bihar jail. Rambir Shokeen also got Sushil Kumar to meet Rajeev, alias Kala Asauda, and Naveen Bali. Rajeev has been prosecuted for more than 15 murders, in addition to robbing LIC of several lakhs.

Similarly, Naveen Bali has been prosecuted for firing on the police team and killing a property dealer. Sources also confirmed that Sushil Kumar did property-related, mostly illegal work with all of them.

Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar met Sandeep, the kingpin of the Kala Jatheri gang. There are reports that Kumar worked with him for a long time. Sushil Kumar started doing business with him, from settlement to property—the kind of work that one does not associate with an Olympic medalist. At the same time, Sushil Kumar got a contract from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to collect toll in Delhi and Ghaziabad. The Kala Jatheri gang wanted to capture toll tax booths in Delhi, UP and Haryana. Also, he did not like Sushil Kumar›s close proximity to Neeraj Bawana and Naveen Bali. It was from here that the differences between Sushil Kumar and Kala Jatheri began; the latter could not digest the news of his nephew Sonu›s beating at the hands of Sushil Kumar and his companions and the murder of Sagar Dhankad. He decided to take revenge against Sushil Kumar. In order to escape from the Kala Jatheri gang, Sushil Kumar was on the run till the time of his arrest.