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Man who attacked Delhi CM was guided by a dog in a dream: Police chargesheet

In May, the man, Rajeshbhai Khimjibhai Sakariya, sat “on a hunger strike in Ayodhya over the issue of monkeys”, allegedly clashed with guards at the temple, and was detained by police, the chargesheet says.

4 min readNew DelhiNov 20, 2025 07:05 AM IST

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He had allegedly “seen many videos on Facebook” of people protesting in Delhi on dog-related issues, and holding “the Chief Minister of Delhi, Rekha Gupta, responsible”, according to the chargesheet.

The 41-year-old man who attacked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in August allegedly acted after he had a dream in which a dog standing next to a Shivling in a temple said to him that dogs in Delhi were suffering, according to the chargesheet submitted by police in court.

In May, the man, Rajeshbhai Khimjibhai Sakariya, sat “on a hunger strike in Ayodhya over the issue of monkeys”, allegedly clashed with guards at the temple, and was detained by police, the chargesheet says.

Sakariya, who belongs to Rajkot, attacked the Chief Minister at a Jan Sunwai (public hearing) on August 20, and was arrested at the spot. His mother Bhanu Khimji Sakariya told reporters in Rajkot at the time that her son was a dog lover who had “mental issues” and was upset over the Supreme Court’s August 11 direction to authorities in the NCR region to pick up all stray dogs and put them permanently in shelters.

“His mind is like that. He will hit anyone. He has hit me and his wife as well. He has mental [issues] but is not on any medication. He got so angry upon learning about the dog issue that he almost broke the bed, hitting it in anger,” the mother had said.

The 429-page chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police last month before Judicial Magistrate First Class Gaurav Goyal at the Tis Hazari court contains Sakariya’s statement to the investigating officer.

“One night I saw a dog in my temple [where many stray dogs live] in a dream, standing next to the Shivling, telling me that dogs in Delhi were suffering a lot,” the chargesheet records. He then told his wife and a friend called Bapu: “I will go to Delhi and sit on a hunger strike, and if anyone stops me the way they did last time, I will kill them, no matter who they are.”

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He had then travelled to Ujjain to seek “Mahakal’s command” on whether he should go to Delhi. “I made two slips, on one I wrote ‘yes’ and on the other ‘no’. I offered both slips before Mahakal and picked one. When I opened it, it said ‘yes’, which for me was Mahakal’s order that I should go to Delhi and sit on a hunger strike,” he said in his statement, according to the chargesheet.

Sakariya’s wife refused to give him money to travel to Delhi, but his friend and co-accused Tahseen Raza transferred Rs 2,000 to him online, says the chargesheet.

Sakariya told police that he put in a request to meet the CM, and received a Jan Sunwai slip. He took the metro to Kashmiri Gate, where he picked a fruit-cutting knife off a fruit vendor’s cart, and got himself a bed at the Delhi Gujarati Samaj Dharamshala. In the morning of August 20, after seeing the police deployment for the CM’s meeting, he threw the knife in an empty plot nearby and entered Jan Sunwai Sadan.

Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Rana told the court that police had uncovered a “deep-rooted conspiracy” that “unequivocally demonstrates the act was pre-planned and pre-meditated”. According to Rana, the probe revealed that the accused had initially attempted to “carry out some mischief” inside the Supreme Court premises but abandoned the plan after noticing heightened security.

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“Around 8.45 am, it was the turn of the accused Rajeshbhai. He told [the] Chief Minister…that imposing a ban on dogs in Delhi was wrong, and…“Now you will face the consequences.” …He slapped her hard, grabbed her hair, pulled her down to the ground, and…pressed her neck with both hands with full force, repeatedly shouting that he would not let her live,” says the chargesheet.

“…If the accused had choked Smt. Rekha Gupta for a few seconds more, and if the PSOs had not acted swiftly, she could have been killed,” it says.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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