13 years after his heroics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won the Bronze medal and later turned it into silver at the 2012 London Olympics, ace wrestler Sushil Kumar is on a run from the police for the last 10 days on the charge of an alleged murder.
Delhi: An incident of brawl among wrestlers was reported at Chhatrasal Stadium yesterday. Some wrestlers were injured and they were admitted to a hospital, one of them died in treatment. Delhi Police has registered a case of murder and an investigation is underway.
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2021
Delhi Police earlier this week (Monday) issued a Look-out-Circular (LoC) for an absconding Kumar after a brawl that broke out last Tuesday at the Chhatrasal Stadium resulted in the death of a 23-year-old wrestler named Sagar Rana. Several police teams were immediately formed after the incident to apprehend Kumar but so far, the wrestler has managed to evade the authorities.
However, according to a Jagran report, Delhi Police has recently received a credible tip that Sushil is in fact hiding in a renowned Yoga Guru’s Ashram in Haridwar. The report further states that Delhi Police got the intel about Sushil’s location from a man named Bhura, who is a resident of Rohtak and former close aid of Sushil. Bhura also revealed that he himself took Sushil to that Ashram in Haridwar.
The chain of events started on May 4 when a quarrel took place between Sushil Kumar, Ajay, Sonu, Sagar, Prince, and others in the parking area of the stadium, where most high-profile wrestlers of the city practice.
The police report suggests that Sagar was staying in a house linked to Sushil in the Model Town area. It is being alleged that the Olympic medallist had asked Sagar to vacate the premises, but the youngster continued to stay there with his friends. The disobedience of Sagar supposedly riled up Kumar which eventually became the reason for the fight between the two groups.
According to Police FIR, calls were made from Chhatrasal stadium at around 2 AM about a firing incident. The caller had claimed that he spotted two men with pistols firing at others. By the time Police reached the spot, there were five cars parked in the parking area, but there was no one inside.
When Police inquired, they came to know that a PCR vehicle had come there earlier and rushed the injured to BJRM Hospital. Sagar succumbed to his injuries at the hospital while Amit and Sonu are undergoing treatment. Delhi police has claimed that they have video footage in which Kumar and others can be seen assaulting wrestler Sagar Dhankad and his friends Sonu and Amit Kumar.
Sushil Kumar’s fall from grace has been disheartening for the fans and more so for the ordinary Indians who took pride in calling him as one of their own. Bringing laurels for the country had put Kumar on a pedestal and many young kids looked up to him for inspiration.
However, with all the circumstantial evidence pointing to Kumar’s involvement in the murder, perhaps his legacy has tarnished for good. Kumar should come out of hiding and face the music and if believes he is not guilty then he should take the legal route to prove his innocence.