Chhatrasal Stadium Murder Case

Key Takeaways

● Sushil Kumar, a two-time Olympic medalist, and another individual were arrested on Sunday in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl, which resulted in the death of wrestler Sagar Rana, a former junior national wrestling champion, outside the stadium's parking lot in New Delhi.

● Sushil Kumar, an Olympian wrestler, was involved in the brawl.

● A case was filed at PS Model Town. Police inspected the crime scene as well as all five cars involved.

● The Delhi Police had offered a reward of Rs. 1 lakh for any information leading to the arrest of wrestler Sushil Kumar, who was wanted in the case.

● Anticipatory bail was also denied to Sushil Kumar.

Introduction

The Delhi court sentenced wrestler Sushil Kumar and his associate Ajay Kumar to six days in police custody after they were arrested in connection with the murder of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankhar at the Chhatrasal Stadium.

After hearing Delhi Police's plea for a 12-day police custody remand of both the accused persons, Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra issued the order.

The Delhi Police had filed an FIR under Sections 302 (murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 365, 323, 341, 506, 188, 269, 34, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act.

According to reports, Sagar, who was training at Delhi's iconic Chhatrasal Stadium, died and two of his friends were injured after being allegedly assaulted by Sushil Kumar and other wrestlers on May 4 at the Chhatrasal Stadium grounds.

Facts

The case stems from an incident at the stadium on May 4 in which wrestler Sagar Rana was killed and two of his colleagues, Sonu and Amit Kumar, were injured after being allegedly assaulted by Sushil Kumar and other wrestlers.

Kumar and his associates reportedly attacked Dhankad and his two friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, inside the stadium. Dhankad died as a result. The two parties allegedly fought over a contested flat in the Model Town area that Kumar had rented to Dhankad, according to police.

Investigators say the fight started as a rent dispute. Police arrested one Prince Dalal the day after the altercation and seized a video clip from his phone that allegedly shows Kumar and others attacking Dhankad and his friends.

The stocky-built athlete, who used to be wrapped in the tricolour after winning medals for the country, had his face covered by a towel and both hands held by special cell officers from Delhi Police.

Much of this happened, ironically, on World Wrestling Day.

Five people, including Dhankad, were kidnapped from Model Town and Shalimar Bagh, taken to Chhatarsal Stadium, and mercilessly beaten up by the accused and their associates with sticks and fire weapons, according to Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava.

More than 15 people, he said, are suspected of being involved. A loaded pistol with live cartridges was discovered in a vehicle parked outside the stadium, followed by the discovery of some sticks. Kumar had to be interrogated in order to figure out why he did what he did, as well as to retrieve the arms he used and the clothes he wore during the incident.

“In order to recreate the crime scene, we need Kumar's custody to determine the chain of events. We need to locate the accused's phone and SIM card. The stadium's camera was dismantled, and he took the location's DVR with him. This must be retrieved.”

Kumar's lawyer, BS Jakhar, opposed remand, claiming that all of the items could be retrieved in 3-4 days. He said the pistol found in Kumar's car was a Delhi police-issued legal weapon.

Sections 302 (murder), 308 (culpable homicide), 365 (kidnapping), 325 (causing grievous harm), 323 (voluntarily causing harm), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code were used to file an FIR in the case (IPC).

The case was also filed under the IPC, Sections 188 (disobedience to a public servant's order), 269 (negligent act likely to spread disease), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention), as well as in the various sections of the Arms Act

Other Information

The Delhi Police had offered a reward of Rs one lakh for information leading to Sushil Kumar's capture, who had been on the run since then. A new reward of Rs 50,000 has been declared for the arrest of Ajay Kumar.

After interviewing him for about 30 minutes inside the courtroom, the police requested his detention for a period of 12 days for further questioning.

During the trial, the state's attorney, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava, told the court that Kumar's detention was necessary to uncover the whole plot and intent behind the crime.

The stadium's camera was dismantled, and he removed the DDR from the location. The prosecutor told the court that this had to be recovered before Kumar could be released.

A Delhi court had previously denied the two-time Olympic medalist’s anticipatory bail, stating that he was prima facie the key conspirator and the charges against him were extreme. He and six others were served with non-bailable warrants. This came just days after the wrestler was given a lookout alert.

“According to our knowledge and surveillance, Kumar and his associates fled to Haridwar hours after the murder. To avoid detention, they had turned off their cellphones and were constantly changing places. They travelled to Rishikesh and then Dehradun in the last 19 days.

They then travelled to Punjab after staying in a few places in Haryana. We received word late Saturday night that Kumar and another of his wanted associates would be arriving in Mundka. We set a trap for them and detained them both shortly after they were found near a metro station,” said an investigator who did not want to be identified.

Another officer stated that interviewing the two men as well as a thorough examination of call logs and other technical information would lead to the arrest of the remaining suspects. On May 15, a non-bailable warrant was released for Kumar and six others, as well as a lookout circular.

The arrest

Olympic medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar was apprehended on Sunday and remanded in police custody for six days in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl that resulted in the death of a wrestler hereafter eluding arrest for nearly three weeks.

Kumar (37) and his associate Ajay alias Sunil (48), according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah, were arrested in the Mundka region of outer Delhi.

Kumar was sentenced to six days in police custody by Delhi Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra, who said that the "allegations against the accused are grave in nature." The court granted police permission to question Kumar and his co-accused Ajay, adding that a variety of people are involved, including notorious gangs from outside Delhi, who have yet to be apprehended.

“The CCTV mounted at the scene of the incident was reportedly tampered with, and the DVR was missing. All of these issues require a thorough investigation by the police, according to the order. The police had requested a 12-day hold.

Conclusion

Kumar has called the Chhatrasal Stadium his home since his early days in the sport. He is the only Indian to win two Olympic medals, bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver in London in 2012, where he was the flag-bearer. In 2010, he became the first Indian to win a world championship, which he did in Russia.

Sushil Kumar is India's only world champion and three-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist in wrestling.

A Sharath Kamal, a seasoned table tennis player who is preparing for his fourth Olympic appearance, and several others acknowledged that the reputation of Indian sports will be tarnished, but added that people should wait for the investigation to be completed.

“He is one of our most talented athletes. He has a lot of people looking up to him. So, if he does what he did, it would have a negative effect on not only wrestlers but also athletes from other sports,” Kamal said.