Delhi HC grants bail to Olympian Sushil Kumar

Sushil Kumar was arrested in connection with the murder of a junior wrestler, Sagar Dhankar.

The Delhi High Court granted regular bail to two-time Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar on Tuesday, March 4.

Kumar was arrested in May 2021, in connection with the murder of a junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar. He was lodged in Tihar jail since then.

As per the bail order passed by a bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula, the murder-accused wrestler will be required to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount.

Sushil Kumar, along with others, is accused of allegedly assaulting former junior national wrestling champion Dhankar, a resident of Haryana’s Rohtak, and his two friends Sonu and Amit Kumar in the parking lot of the city’s Chhatrasal stadium, on May 4, 2021, over an alleged property dispute.

He has been in judicial custody since June 2, 2021. He was earlier granted interim bail, for performing the last rites of his father and for undertaking surgery for his torn ligament.

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Dhankar had succumbed to injuries after being assaulted by Sushil Kumar and his accomplices and according to the post-mortem report, died due to cerebral damage resulting from blunt object impact.

Sushil Kumar was arrested after staying on the run for 18 days after the death of Dhankar.

According to Delhi Police officials, Kumar had travelled to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana during the 18-day-long cat-and-mouse chase game.

He was finally arrested from Delhi’s Mundka area when he had come to collect some cash and also borrowed a scooty from a national-level player.

Following his arrest, he was also suspended from his Railways job. In October 2022, the trial court had framed charges against Sushil Kumar and 17 others, setting the stage for their trial.

Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand had framed charges against Sushil Kumar and the other accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy.

According to a charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police, Sushil Kumar has been named as the kingpin of the whole murder conspiracy. Sushil Kumar had won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and a silver in the 2012 London Olympic Games.