Indian Olympic wrestling star Sushil Kumar arrested in murder case

Indian Olympic wrestling medallist Sushil Kumar arrested in murder case .Getty Images)

May 24, 2021

Two-time Olympic wrestling medalist Sushil Kumar has been arrested for the murder of a former junior national wrestling champion, in the Indian capital New Delhi.

The 37-year-old Sushil Kumar had been on the run since 23-year-old Sagar Dhankhar was beaten to death on May 4 at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium.

A Delhi court on Tuesday rejected a plea of his lawyers to prevent his arrest and Kumar was produced before a city court on Sunday, the police said.

Police had conducted raids in the Delhi region and offered a $1,350 reward leading to the capture of Kumar, who won a freestyle wrestling silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze at the Beijing Games four years earlier.

“We have recorded statements of all the victims and they all made allegations against Sushil Kumar,” media reported quoting a senior police officer Guriqbal Singh Sidhu.

Sagar Dhankhar, son of a Delhi police officer, died from his injuries the day after the fight. Another wrestler is under treatment and has identified the alleged attackers, police said.

Just weeks from the scheduled start of the Tokyo Olympics, the Wrestling Federation of India said the sport’s reputation has been tarnished by the case.

Kumar was the first Indian to win two individual Olympic medals and also the first in more than five decades to get a wrestling medal.