Wrestler Nisha Dahiya issued a video on Instagram and said the news that she and her brother were shot dead by unknown assailants was fake news. In the video, Nisha Dahiya introduced her and said she has come to Gonda to play senior nationals and the news of her being shot is fake. “This Nisha Dahiya (shot dead) and medalist wrestler Nisha Dahiya are two different people. The medalist wrestler belongs to Panipat and is at an event now,” Sonipat superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said to ANI.
On Wednesday evening, it was reported Nisha and her brother Suraj were shot dead in Haryana's Sonipat by unknown assailants as she was returning home from Sushil Kumar Wrestling Academy in Sonipat's Halalpur. It was also reported that Nisha's mother was admitted to Rohtak's PGI Hospital in a critical condition.
The wrestler has recently won medals at the Wrestling Championships in Belgrade in 65 kg wrestling under 23 for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted congratulating the wrestler along with the other winners of the event. "Congratulations to Shivani, Anju, Divya, Radhika and Nisha for winning medals at the Wrestling Championships in Belgrade. Their performance is special and will contribute to wrestling becoming even more popular across India," PM Modi tweeted on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}The wrestler has recently won medals at the Wrestling Championships in Belgrade in 65 kg wrestling under 23 for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted congratulating the wrestler along with the other winners of the event. "Congratulations to Shivani, Anju, Divya, Radhika and Nisha for winning medals at the Wrestling Championships in Belgrade. Their performance is special and will contribute to wrestling becoming even more popular across India," PM Modi tweeted on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}Soon after the ‘fake news’ started doing the rounds, people on social media expressed shock over the incident, minutes after which the video from Nisha Dahiya hit social media.
News agency Press Trust of India clarified that the news of a wrestler by the name of Nisha Dahiya being shot dead by assailants in Sonipat is not fake. Quoting the coach, it reported that the wrestler who has been shot is a newcomer wrestler who is also Nisha Dahiya, not the under-13 world championship bronze medalist
Nisha Dahiya's wrestling career has gone through several ups and downs as she faced a ban in 2016 after she tested positive for meldonium, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the wrestler’s death. The error is regretted.