Delhi court denies bail to Olympian Sushil Kumar in Sagar Dhankar murder case

A Delhi court on Friday dismissed Olympian Sushil Kumar’s bail plea in the murder case of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar at the Chhatrasal Stadium here. Additional Sessions Judge Sushil Kumar was hearing the bail application filed by the celebrated Olympian wrestler.

Kumar and others are accused of fatally assaulting Dhankar and his friends over an alleged property dispute in May 2021. According to the post-mortem report, Dhankar had suffered cerebral damage from the impact of a blunt object. Two of his friends were also injured in the alleged assault. Kumar was arrested in May 2021 and a sessions court granted him a week’s interim bail for his knee surgery on July 19, 2023.

The trial court, in October 2022, framed charges against Kumar under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections dealing with murder, criminal conspiracy, intimidation and rioting with a deadly weapon.

Charges were also framed under the provisions of the Arms Act. The trial court had noted that after being abducted and brought to the stadium, Dhankar was severely assaulted by several accused persons with baseball and hockey sticks.