Chhatrasal Stadium murder case: Delhi HC grants bail to wrestler Sushil Kumar

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar in the murder case of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar at Chhatrasal Stadium in the national capital.

Justice Sanjeev Narula granted the relief to Kumar and directed him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of the like amount.

Kumar, and others, are accused of fatally assaulting Dhankar in May 2021 over an alleged property dispute. Two of Dhankar’s friends were also injured in the assault.

According to the post-mortem report, Dhankar suffered cerebral damage from the impact of a blunt object.

Advocates R S Malik and Sumeet Shokeen, representing Kumar, said the wrestler was in jail for the last three-and-a-half years and the prosecution had cited 222 witnesses whereas only 31 were examined so far.

All the material witnesses have already been examined, the counsel added. While the prosecution opposed the plea, Malik argued trial would take a long time to conclude and Kumar ought to be granted the reprieve on the ground of delay.

Kumar was arrested in May 2021 and granted interim bail for a week for his knee surgery.

In October 2022, the trial court framed IPC charges against Kumar, including murder, conspiracy, rioting with a deadly weapon, and Arms Act violations. Dhankar was abducted, taken to the stadium, and brutally assaulted with baseball and hockey sticks.