A 20-year-old wrestler and her 18-year-old brother were shot dead Wednesday afternoon at a wrestling academy in Halalpur village of Haryana’s Sonipat, allegedly by her coach and his accomplices, police said.
The mother of the victims, Nisha Dahiya and Suraj Dahiya, was also shot at and is undergoing treatment at PGIMS in Rohtak, police said.
The victims’ father, who is an Inspector in the CRPF and posted in Srinagar, has been informed about the incident that occurred at around 2 pm
Mayank Gupta, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Kharkhoda), said: “The main suspect is Pawan, who is the coach, and some of his aides. The accused are absconding and we are making efforts to trace them. The academy’s name is Sushil Kumar Academy, but we have found no links with the Olympics wrestler. After the incident, a group of irate villagers set fire to the academy.”
Coach Pawan, his wife & her 2 brothers have been booked under Sections 354 & 302 of the IPC and Arms Act on the mother’s statement. She alleged Pawan had been molesting Nisha for 2 years.
Why Coach kills woman wrestler and her brother ?
Pawan hails from Baland in Rohtak, police said. “The coach Pawan was allegedly harassing the girl and she called her brother and mother to the spot. Pawan was accompanied by his wife and 2-3 relatives, who fled after shooting the three. The girl had been training at the academy for the last three years,” said Inspector Karamjeet Singh, SHO, Kharkhoda.
The victims’ mom Dhanpati said that her daughter had knowledgeable her earlier that Pawan usually misbehaved together with her.
“Despite discussing the issue with him several times, he did not mend his ways. This morning, as per her routine, my daughter had gone to the academy for training and later returned home. At 1 pm, she went to the academy again. Then, we got a call from Pawan saying Nisha was not feeling well, and he asked us to take her home,” she stated .
The mom stated that she and her son rushed to the academy on a motorbike and “saw Pawan, his wife and at least two of their aides rush towards Nisha near the main gate”.
“Nisha told me that Pawan had harassed her and threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone. Suddenly, Pawan pulled out a gun and fired multiple bullets at my daughter. She collapsed after sustaining gunshot wounds near the gate. My son and I ran in different directions. The accused got hold of me and shot me. They chased my son, who was running towards the village. I saw them firing several bullets, which hit him and he died on the spot,” Dhanpati stated in her assertion.
“Pawan and his aides removed the CCTV camera at the academy and near the village road before absconding,” stated Deepak, Nisha’s cousin.
Police, nonetheless, stated the motive behind the killings is but to be established and that 4 groups from the Crime Branch had been looking for the accused.