Delhi Police arrests Sushil Kumar: All you need to know
Two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar, who was on the run for his alleged involvement in the murder of a fellow wrestler, was arrested by the Delhi Police this morning. He was arrested along with a co-accused from northwest Delhi's Mundka. Notably, 23-year-old wrestler Sagar Rana was thrashed to death during a brawl at a stadium in Delhi. Here is all about the case.
Neeraj Thakur, Special CP-Special Cell, told ANI that Sushil and Ajay were arrested from Mundka by a team of Special Cell. "A team of Special Cell SR led by Inspector Shivkumar, Inspector Karambir and supervised by ACP Attar Singh has arrested Sushil Kumar and Ajay from Mundka area of Delhi in connection with the killing of 23-year-old Sagar Rana at Chhatrasal Stadium," he said.
Sushil and his associates had allegedly thrashed fellow wrestler Rana and his two friends on May 4 at the national capital's Chhatrasal Stadium. All three had to be hospitalized as Rana succumbed to injuries later on. The Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs. 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Sushil, who had since been on the run.
A non-bailable warrant was issued against Sushil after Rana, a junior wrestler, was beaten to death in a clash involving two groups. The victims, in their statements, had alleged that Sushil and his associates abducted Sagar from his house in Model Town to teach him a lesson for bad-mouthing him in front of other wrestlers, as per the police.
As per the recorded statements, Sagar and some of his friends, including Sonu Mahal, who is a close associate of gangster Kala Jathedi, were staying in a house linked to Sushil. "They had been asked to vacate and were removed from the house forcefully. Sushil came to know that Sagar had started bad-mouthing him in front of other wrestlers," a police officer had said.
Investigation has revealed that Sushil had traveled between Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana while trying to evade arrest. The Delhi Police has also received leads that suggest that Sushil, along with the co-accused might have used multiple SIM cards in this attempt. Notably, a man from outer Delhi is believed to have arranged around 10 SIM cards for Sushil and his associate.
According to the investigation, Sushil left home as soon as the news of Sagar's death broke. The police revealed that Sushil left his house after he came to know that Sagar has succumbed to his injuries. He then met his old associate in Shalimar Bagh, from where the duo traveled to Uttarakhand. Thereafter, they moved to Muzaffarnagar before returning to Delhi.
A Delhi court, on May 18, had rejected the anticipatory bail filed by Sushil, and observed that the allegations against him were serious. "We have the electronic evidence wherein Sushil Kumar is seen with a 'danda'," Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava had stated.
The high-profile case will certainly tarnish the image of Sushil Kumar, who brought several laurels for India in wrestling. He made history by winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, only the second Olympic medal for India in wrestling. He won a silver at the 2012 London Olympics, which made him the only Indian (since independence) to win two individual Olympic medals.
