NCP-SP Working President Supriya Sule and MLA Rohit Pawar have contacted Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in connection with the arrest of Sikander Shaikh (26), a wrestler from Maharashtra's Solapur.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Sule wrote, "Regarding the case of Maharashtra Kesari wrestler Sikandar Shaikh, MLA Rohit Pawar and I have contacted the Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann." "The CM has assured us that he will update us on the matter by this afternoon. We are awaiting his response," she added.
Shaikh was arrested in Mohali last week, along with two alleged gangsters from Uttar Pradesh. The police have said that they recovered five pistols, live cartridges, cash and two vehicles in the operation. Another alleged gangster from Punjab was held in the same case later, they added.
According to the police, Shaikh was arrested along with two from UP at Airport Chowk when he was allegedly purchasing the weapons for a local network.
Meanwhile, Pawar has said that he suspects that Shaikh has been “framed” in the case. “He has carved a name for himself in the wrestling world. I don’t believe he would turn to crime and dump wrestling at a time when he is at the height of his career. Maybe, some people tried to implicate him in the case because of the rapid strides that he has made in wrestling,” he said.
Shaikh won the Rustam-e-Hind Kesari title in 2024. He has also won gold in the under-23 National Wrestling Championship in Shirdi. His father and grandfather were wrestlers, too.
