Police probing SIM used by Sushil
BATHINDA: Bathinda SSP BS Virk said a Delhi Police team led by Model Town ACP Ajay Kumar reached here Friday morning in connection with the murder case where twice Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar is an accused. Kumar is absconding.
The team from Delhi, said Virk, was here to trace the owner of a SIM card. Virk said Sukpreet Singh, a Bathinda resident, was questioned at Sadar Police Station as a SIM issued in his name was being used by Kumar. Delhi Police did not reveal whether Kumar’s mobile was located in or around Bathinda, said Virk.
“Sukpreet told the sleuths of Delhi police that his cousin Aman Singh had his Aadhaar card and he may have misused the document to secure a SIM card. Aman was not found at his residence. The visiting team told me officially that they did not intend to arrest any person but the purpose of the visit to only question Sukhpreet,” said Virk.
Information on Kumar, who has been on the run since May 5, will fetch a reward of ₹1 lakh, Delhi Police has announced. A non-bailable warrant has been issued against Kumar, who, according to a Delhi court is the “main conspirator” in the murder of Sagar Dhankad, a 23-yearold wrestler and former junior national champion, outside New Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4.
The police claim that Rana and two of his friends were allegedly assaulted by Kumar and other wrestlers. While Dhankad died the following day, his friends were injured. Delhi Police claims that initial investigations revealed that the violence was a fallout of a property dispute—Dhankad lived in a rented apartment owned by Kumar, according to the police, and had been asked to vacate the place—though it is also looking at a gang rivalry angle.
Delhi Police has said it has cell phone footage showing Kumar assaulting Dhankad. Kumar, who won bronze in the 66kg in the 2008 Olympics and improved it to silver in the 2012 Games in London, is India’s only double Olympic medallist in an individual event. He is also a world and Commonwealth champion and a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna winner.