Opinionated blog- by Cheena Khanna
INTRODUCTION
The Delhi High Court issued a notice on a bail application submitted by Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar in connection with the death of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankhar at the Chhatrasal Stadium on Friday. While scheduling the issue for further hearing on March 28, Justice Mukta Gupta demanded a response from the Delhi Police. Last year, Sushil Kumar was apprehended in Delhi. Ajay Kumar, a physical education instructor at Chhatrasal Stadium, was also apprehended in the Mundka neighborhood.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of Delhi police on the bail plea by Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar in the Chhatrasal Stadium murder case.
The Delhi Police had filed an FIR under section 302 (punishment for murder) and sec. 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 365 (abduction), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 34 and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC along with sec. 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.
Sagar, who had been practicing at the renowned Chhatrasal Stadium, was reportedly assaulted by Sushil Kumar and other wrestlers on May 4, 2021, at the Chhatrasal Stadium premises in Delhi, and killed, while two of his companions were injured. The police claimed in the initial charge sheet, filed on August 2 last year, that the incident at the stadium was the consequence of a conspiracy orchestrated by Kumar, who intended to re-establish his dominance among younger wrestlers.
According to the Delhi Police, he also changed his SIM cards frequently to avoid being arrested. Sushil Kumar's lawyer, Pradeep Rana, contended that he has a spotless criminal record and has never been convicted in violation of the law of the state. He also stated that he is a 38- year-old married man who is responsible for the maintenance of his complete family. In the bail plea, it has been stated thus:
"The investigating agency at the far end of the investigation cropped up a new version that the deceased purportedly had given a dying declaration to the police officials with an aim to add bite to the otherwise toothless case of the prosecution. That nothing incriminating has been recovered from or at the instance of the petitioner which further corroborates his innocence in the alleged incident.”
On the day a Delhi court extended the judicial custody of Sushil Kumar in connection with the alleged murder of a young wrestler at Chhatrasal Stadium, policemen in uniform were seen having a photo session with the disgraced Olympian.
The photographs, as seen above, have gone viral with many slamming the "utterly shameless" act. These photographs were taken while the two-time Olympic medallist was shifting to Tihar jail.
CONCLUSION
A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta issued the notice and fixed the matter for hearing on March 28.
Kumar said in his petition to the High Court that the first information report (FIR) filed against him was based on assumptions, presumptions, and malicious intent. According to him, this was evidenced by the fact that the FIR was not registered in a timely manner. Despite the fact that the charge sheet claimed that four people were hurt and 15 people were witnesses to the alleged event, the FIR was filed on the DD entry after a 16-hour wait, according to the appeal. He said that the prosecution theory was formed and constructed after a great lot of "deliberation and delay in a dark context, strongly fragrant of doubt and suspicion," due to the delay in recording witness accounts.
Kumar's bail was denied by a Delhi court in October 2021. The public prosecutor's claim that Kumar was a well-known wrestler who had won awards was "accepted" by Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand. The judge, on the other hand, stated that when someone like him is accused of committing a horrible crime, the societal consequences are huge.
In his bail application, Sushil Kumar further stated that the police went to great lengths to create a "false and guilty picture" of him and gave misleading material to the media in order to falsely establish a link between him and infamous criminals. On May 4, there was a confrontation among wrestlers at Delhi's Chhatrasal stadium, in which three wrestlers were hurt and had to be taken to the hospital. One of them, Sagar Dhankar, died while undergoing treatment.
REFERENCE
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/wrestling/hc-seeks-policestand-on-bail-plea-by-wrestler-sushil-kumar-in-chhatrasal-stadiumcase/articleshow/89349710.cms
• https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-sushil-kumar-chhatrasalstadium-murder-case-bail-191167?utm_source=internal-artice&utm_medium=alsoread
• https://www.indialegallive.com/sushil-kumar-delhi-high-court/
• https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2022/feb/04/chhatrasal-stadiummurder-case-delhi-hc-seeks-police-stand-on-wrestler-sushil-kumars-bail-plea2415373.html
• https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-wrestler-murder-case-delhicops-shamelessly-take-selfies-with-accused-sushil-kumar-see-viralpics/386179?utm_source=related_story
keep it up!