This is an archive article published on January 11, 2022
Hours before wrestler’s murder, Sushil fired at dogs, assaulted fellow athletes: Chargesheet
The alleged events took place on May 5, as per the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch at Rohini court last year against four men, relying on disclosure statements of Sushil’s security guard Anil Dhiman and other accused.
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 11, 2022 05:33 PM IST
Co-accused Rahul claimed in his statement that he along with Sushil, who was allegedly carrying a licensed pistol, and another associate reached the stadium and found coaches and wrestlers gathered there.
Hours before the alleged abduction and murder of 27-year-old wrestler Sagar Dhankarlast year, Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, the main accused, allegedly made his way to Chhatrasal stadium, fired at a pack of barking dogs, assaulted athletes with his pistol, and forced them to leave, the Delhi Police has claimed in its supplementary chargesheet.
The alleged events took place on May 5, as per the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch at Rohini court last year against four men, relying on disclosure statements of Sushil’s security guard Anil Dhiman and other accused.
In his statement to police, Dhiman, who had been working with Sushil at Chhatrasal stadium since April 2019 and handled “private and official work” related to the wrestler, has claimed he was with him on the night of May 4-5, 2021, when Sushil allegedly called several people to the basketball ground and said he wanted to “teach a lesson to some people”.
Sushil Kumar and his associate Ajay Sherawat after their arrest in Delhi.
Co-accused Rahul claimed in his statement that he along with Sushil, who was allegedly carrying a licensed pistol, and another associate reached the stadium and found coaches and wrestlers gathered there.
Just as they arrived, a few dogs started barking and Sushil, “who was very angry at the time”, allegedly fired in their direction. Sushil then asked two wrestlers to leave the stadium. When a wrestler, Vikas, asked Sushil, “Pehalwan ji what happened?”, he allegedly assaulted Vikas and chased him away after snatching his phone.
According to Rahul, after chasing away a third wrestler, Sushil said, “Where I go, who I meet, what I eat — all this information is being leaked by Sagar and Sonu Mahal.”
Sushil then asked a fourth wrestler to hand over his phone, and his refusal was met with the former allegedly hitting him on the forehead with his pistol.
Dhiman claimed that “later that night, I, along with Sushil and others, visited Shalimar Bagh and abducted Amit and Ravinder (who were assaulted along with Sagar) around 11.30 pm and took them to Chhatrasal stadium.” He told police that the duo were assaulted “on Sushil’s instructions”.
“At the stadium, we beat them a lot… we then visited a flat in Model Town where we abducted Sagar, Jaibhagwan, and Sonu and took them to the stadium,” Dhiman claimed in his statement.
According to the chargesheet, he quoted Sushil as saying, “Do not leave them alive. Beat them mercilessly.”
Co-accused Praveen, a “notorious criminal” involved in four criminal cases including murder, further quotes Sushil as saying, “I am the gunda of this area. How can you take over my flat?” as he allegedly assaulted them with a stick.
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Dhiman claimed that they “assaulted them with lathi, danda, hockey stick and baseball bat. Our intention was to kill Sagar and Jaibhagwan as that was what Sushil wanted… He was scared that Sagar and Jaibhagwan were collecting information on him and wanted to cause him harm (to his life); that’s why Sushil wanted to kill them…”
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
Sushil Kumar and his associate Ajay Sherawat after their arrest in Delhi.