METERS of a Akhara Here, where hundreds of aspiring wrestlers flock from across the country, Sundar Singh Malik awaited his son’s body on Saturday and prayed for the life of his four-year-old grandson.
A blanket of sadness hung over the city, accustomed to stories of praise from wrestling in its akharas than to the bloody shooting that ended the lives of five at Jaat College’s wrestling academy on Friday night. Among them were Malik’s son, Manoj, a wrestler-turned-coach who ran the academy, and his daughter-in-law Sakshi, a former wrestler who had a sports quota job with the Railways. The defendant, a Sonipat National Sports Institute certified wrestling coach Sukhwinder Singh, was detained from Delhi on Saturday.
The other three killed were international referee and coach Satish Dalal, and wrestlers Pradeep Malik and Pooja. Manoj and Sakshi’s son is fighting for his life, as is another wrestling coach.
Police, who had announced a 1 lakh rupee reward for information about the shooter, said Sukhwinder was angry that Manoj had fired him from his job at the academy and banned him from entry, following accusations of harassment by from Pooja, who trained there.
Rohtak Police Superintendent Rahul Sharma said: “After some complaints were filed against him, Manoj Malik had removed him as his assistant.” Pooja’s parents, who live in Mathura, had also filed a police report against Sukhwinder.
According to the police, a meeting had been called at the academy on Friday night to resolve the matter. “They met in a room on the first floor while dozens of trainees were practicing downstairs,” said a police officer. “The meeting did not go as planned and it is believed that Sukhwinder shot everyone, closed the door and left. The CCTV footage is being examined at the entrance. ”SP Sharma previously said they had not found any eyewitnesses so far.
Sukhwinder was arrested in Delhi’s Samaypur Badli in a joint operation by the Delhi and Haryana police. Police said Sukhwinder had no weapons registered in his name.
A grieving Sundar said that Manoj had supported Sukhwinder when his relationships with his family were strained. “But recently, Manoj was told that Sukhwinder was harassing a fighter and pressuring her to marry him. He had immediately eliminated Sukhwinder. “
Breaking up, he added, “People call it a fight between athletes. My son was a coach, his wife was an athlete… They were murdered in cold blood by a criminal, not an athlete. Sports give you a reason to live, not an excuse to kill anyone. “
with ENS, Chandigarh
.
