Maharashtra’s top wrestler arrested in Punjab for 'inter‑State arms smuggling'

Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) have taken up the issue with the Punjab government

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s top wrestler Sikandar Shaikh has been arrested by the Punjab police for allegedly being part of an inter‑State arms smuggling network.

Shaikh (25), who has earned the coveted wrestling titles of 'Maharashtra Kesari' and 'Rustam-e-Hind', has set his sights on the 2026 Asian Games in mat wrestling. He has won the gold in the under-23 National Wrestling Championship in Shirdi.

Shaikh hails from a family of wrestlers based in Mohol in Solapur district and was trained in the Gandwish Talim in Kolhapur.

According to the Mohali police, Shaikh was arrested along with others for allegedly purchasing weapons for a local network.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) have taken up the issue.

NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule and her nephew Rohit Pawar, Karjat Jamkhed MLA, have spoken to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on this issue.

“Regarding the case of Maharashtra Kesari wrestler Sikandar Shaikh, MLA Rohit Pawar and I have contacted 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,” said Sule, who is an MP from Baramati.

NCP’s Solapur district chief Umesh Patil, who also hails from Mohol, said he suspected that Shaikh might have been “framed by local wrestlers due to sports rivalry”.