SC cancels wrestler Sushil Kumar's bail in Sagar Dhankar murder case
India's two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was one of the prime accused in junior wrestler Sagar Dhankar's assault and murder, back in 2021. The Delhi High Court had ordered bail for Kumar in March, which was cancelled in the latest ruling.
The honourable Supreme Court cancelled the wrestler and two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar's bail after an appeal was filed by Ashok Dhankar, the victim Sagar Dhankar's father, challenging the High Court's March order. Kumar, who was one of the prime accused of former junior wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar's assault and murder on May 4, 2021, at Delhi's Chhatrasal Stadium, had gotten bail by a High Court order on March 4 earlier this year, passed by Justice Sanjeev Narula.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra passed the order of cancellation of Kumar's bail and further directed him to surrender within a week. Dhankar's father, in his appeal challenging Kumar's bail, alleged that the Olympian threatened a key witness in the case.
Kumar was arrested in May 2021 in the Dhankar murder case. However, since the trial began, only 30 of the 186 prosecution witnesses were examined by March and hence, Kumar was granted bail by the High Court, before the same was quashed five months later. Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani represented Kumar, while Siddharth Mridul appeared for Dhankar's father.
Along with Kumar, 17 others were accused under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, kidnapping and robbery, et al. The chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police had Kumar being described as the 'kingpin' of the conspiracy. Dhankar succumbed to his injuries, while two of his friends were injured and the post-mortem revealed that it was cerebral damage, caused by force.
Following it, an 18-day manhunt began across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for Kumar and was placed under arrest on May 23, 2021, after Delhi Police finally nabbed him in Delhi's Mundka.