Olympian Sushil Kumar denied bail in Sagar Dhankar's murder case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has once again refused bail to Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar in the murder case linked to the death of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar.

The decision was delivered on Friday by an additional sessions judge while hearing Kumar’s latest bail application.The case dates back to May 2021, when Dhankar and his friends were allegedly abducted and taken to Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium. According to investigators, Dhankar was brutally assaulted there with baseball and hockey sticks following a dispute related to property. The post-mortem report later confirmed that he died due to severe brain damage caused by a blunt object.

Two of his friends were also injured in the attack.Sushil Kumar was arrested soon after the incident and has remained in custody since then, except for a brief period in July 2023 when he was granted interim bail for knee surgery. In October 2022, the trial court formally framed serious charges against him, including murder, criminal conspiracy, intimidation, rioting with deadly weapons, and violations under the Arms Act.

While rejecting bail earlier, the trial court took a strong view of the allegations, observing that the incident showed how the national capital was turned into a “criminal playground” to settle personal scores without respect for the law. With the charges already framed and the case still under trial, the court found no grounds to release the former Olympian on bail at this stage.