Court denies pre-arrest bail for on-the-run Olympics hero
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed a pre-arrest bail plea by wrestler and twotime Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar in a case involving the murder of another wrestler at the Chhatrasal Stadium in the Capital, observing that he is prima facie the “main conspirator” and that the allegations against him are “serious in nature”.
“The investigation is still going on and some of the accused persons have not been arrested so far. The NBW [nonbailable warrant] has already been issued against the accused,” additional sessions judge Jadgish Kumar said, while denying relief to Sushil Kumar.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winner has been booked for murder, abduction and criminal conspiracy in the murder of wrestler Sagar Rana, 23, a former national junior wrestling champion.
The police claim that Rana and two of his friends -- Sonu, who only goes by his first name, and Amit Kumar -- were allegedly assaulted by Sushil Kumar and other wrestlers on the night of May 4. While Rana died the following day, his friends were injured. It is believed that Rana himself was abducted from his residence in Model Town and brought to the stadium. A clash between the two groups followed, and Rana was beaten up. There have been reports that suggest that Rana was targeted for bad-mouthing Kumar and that shots were fired during the clash.
Kumar has been absconding since and the Delhi Police has announced a cash reward of ₹1
lakh for any information that leads to his arrest. It is believed he may have left Delhi for Haridwar and then Rishikesh. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing the accused, told the court that Sonu, present during the brawl, is a history sheeter and is a member of a gang headed by Kala Jatheria.
Sandeep alias Kala Jatheri is an alleged gangster from Haryana’s Sonepat. Jatheri had escaped from the custody of the Haryana Police in Faridabad after his seven accomplices waylaid the prison van in which Jatheri was being escorted from Faridabad court to Bhondsi jail on February 1 last year. “These people, who I am up against, are criminal-minded people and I will suffer at their hands,” Luthra told the court on behalf of Sushil Kumar. In his plea, Kumar claimed that the investigation against him is biased.
Luthra also said Kumar has no connection with the alleged firing. The lawyer added that Kumar is willing to join the investigation. Additional public prosecutor Atul Srivastava, appearing for the police, said that there is electronic evidence showing Kumar assaulting the deceased with a stick.He also said that his passport has been taken away by the police with an apprehension that he may flee the country. Inspector Dinesh Kumar submitted that Sushil Kumar’s custodial interrogation is required to unearth the conspiracy. “He is main accused in whole incident who has played a key role in the commission of offence,” officer told the court.