After 19 days on the run, wrestling icon arrested near Delhi; remanded to six days in police custody
Double Olympic medallist, Sushil Kumar, wanted in the murder of fellow wrestler Sagar Dhankad, was arrested by the Delhi Police on Sunday morning from the outskirts of the Capital after being on the run for 19 days and sent to police custody for six days by a city court.
Kumar and his five associates are wanted by the police after Dhankad, a former junior national champion, was beaten to death inside the Chhatrasal Stadium, the wrestling hub in northwest Delhi, on May 4. Police had announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for Kumar’s arrest.
The Chhatrasal Stadium has virtually been Kumar’s home since his early days in the sport. He is the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals, bronze at 2008 Beijing and silver at 2012 London, where he was the flag-bearer. He is also the only Indian to win a world championship, in Russia in 2010.
Delhi Police deputy commissioner (special cell), Pramod Kushwah, announced the arrest of Kumar and his accomplice Ajay. “Both have been charged with murder, attempt to murder, assault, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and under other relevant sections, including the Arms Act,” Kushwah said. Police said the two were arrested from Mundka in outer Delhi when they came on a scooter to borrow money from a contact. The Delhi Police special cell acted on information received from Punjab, where the two men had taken shelter.
“As per our information and surveillance, hours after the murder took place, Kumar along with his associates had fled to Haridwar. They had switched off their cell phones and were frequently changing locations to evade arrest. In the past 19 days, they went to Rishikesh and then to Dehradun. They then stayed at a few places in Haryana and went to Punjab. Late on Saturday night, we got information that Kumar will come to Mundka along with another of his wanted associate. We set a trap and arrested both soon after they were spotted near a metro station,” said an investigator, who was part of the operation but did not wish to be named.
Another officer said questioning the two men and detailed analysis of call logs and other technical evidence will lead the police to the remaining accused. A non-bailable warrant was issued against Kumar and six others on May 15 and a lookout circular on May 10.
Dhankad and his two friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, were allegedly assaulted by Kumar and his friends inside the stadium. Dhankad subsequently died. Police believe the two groups clashed over a disputed flat in Model Town area that Kumar had rented to Dhankad. Investigators believe a dispute over rent snowballed into the clash. The day after the clash, police arrested one Prince Dalal and recovered a video clip from his phone that purportedly shows Kumar and others assaulting Dhankad and his friends.
Sagar’s father, Ashok told ANI: “There is strong evidence against him (Kumar), severe punishment should be given to him. I have full faith in law.”
Kumar’s father-in-law and wrestling coach Satpal Singh did not respond to calls. A person close to the wrestler’s family said: “The family is naturally very disturbed. It’s not only the family, but when something of this sort has happened, relatives and people who are close to him are also worried.”
Delhi Metropolitan Magistrate, Divya Malhotra, sent Kumar to six days in police custody saying the “allegations against the accused are grave in nature”. The court allowed police to interrogate Kumar and co-accused Ajay, noting that a number of persons, including notorious gangs based outside Delhi, are involved and are yet to be arrested.
“The CCTV installed at the place of incident has allegedly been tampered with and there is no sign of its DVR. All these points require detailed investigation by the police,” the order said. The police had sought custody for 12 days.
Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told the court that five persons, including Dhankad, were abducted from Model Town and Shalimar Bagh, brought to Chhatarsal Stadium and mercilessly beaten up by the accused persons and their associates with sticks and fire arms.
He submitted that more than 15 people are suspected to be involved. A loaded gun with live cartridges was recovered from a vehicle parked outside the stadium, and subsequently some sticks were also recovered. Kumar’s interrogation was required to ascertain motive, recover the weapon used and the clothes he wore during the incident.
“We have to establish the chain of incidents and need the custody of Kumar for recreation of the scene of crime. We have to recover the mobile and SIM of the accused…. The camera at the stadium was dismantled and he took away the DVR of the place. This has to be recovered.”
BS Jakhar, Kumar’s advocate, opposed remand and said all the things could be recovered in 3-4 days. He said the pistol found in Kumar’s car is a legal weapon issued by the Delhi police.
He said Kumar is a celebrated wrestler and not some notorious criminal who may flee from justice. “Rather he has clean antecedents and has been falsely implicated in the case only to extort money. Moreover, both the accused persons are ready to cooperate in the investigation,” he said.
Kumar, a senior commercial manager with Northern Railway, is on deputation to the Delhi government and was posted as Officer on Special Duty at the Chhatrasal Stadium. He is also president of the School Games Federation of India.
“Sushil Kumar is one of our star wrestlers; he has been a motivation for so many young wrestlers. To see him in this situation is very sad and disappointing,” wrestling federation assistant secretary, Vinod Tomar, said.
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