Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, arrested in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl case that led to the death of a wrestler here, was interrogated for almost four hours, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
Olympic fame to arrest in murder case: For wrestler Sushil Kumar, life’s become a bout of two halves
A 23-year-old wrestler died and two of his friends were injured after they were allegedly assaulted by Sushil Kumar and others inside the Chhatrasal Stadium. The incident occurred on the intervening night of May 4 and May 5 over a dispute related to a property located in the Model Town area.
Sushil along with his associate Ajay were arrested on Sunday from outer Delhi’s Mundka area.
“We are questioning Kumar to ascertain the sequence of events that transpired and led the crime and also about his whereabouts after the incident. He was also questioned about his associates and friends who helped him to hide. He will be taken to the spot for recreating the crime scene,” an officer is quoted as saying by PTI.
The police had earlier said that the incident took place due to a dispute over a property at the the Model Town area.
“It was not a case of trespassing. The accused took the victims inside the stadium where they assaulted them in the parking area. Sushil Kumar was present at the spot when the incident took place. However, the police are investigating his role in the assault,” an official source had said.
The police said further interrogation of Sushil will clear whether the brawl took place over a property dispute.
“The motive behind the attack on wrestler Sagar Rana and his friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, who were injured will only be clear during interrogation,” the police said.
The police, however, refused to divulge details about a purported video of the incident which Sushil Kumar had allegedly asked his associate to record.
The police are also probing the link between Sushil Kumar and alleged gangster Kala Jathedi, whose nephew Sonu was also injured in the brawl, officials had said.
Prince Dalal (24), a resident of Haryana’s Jhajjar had been apprehended in connection with the case and a double-barrel gun had been seized from his possession.
The police had said they have seized two double-barrel guns, seven live cartridges, two wooden sticks and five cars in connection with the case.
The police on Sunday had said the case, which is currently being investigated by the northwest district police, will be officially transferred to the Crime Branch by Monday.
Sushil Kumar left the city as soon as he got to know about the wrestler’s death, the police had said, adding that multiple teams were formed to trace him and his aide but he kept changing his location regularly.
Several teams, including the Crime Branch and four teams of the Special cell, conducted raids in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Punjab.
The Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Sushil Kumar, who had since been on the run. Another reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for Ajay arrest.
Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra had granted the police six-day custody of Sushil Kumar.
Earlier, a Delhi court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to the two-time Olympic medallist, saying he was prima facie the main conspirator and allegations against him were serious in nature.
The Delhi Police filed an FIR in the case under sections 302 (murder), 308 (culpable homicide), 365 (kidnapping), 325 (causing grievous hurt), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case was also registered under sections 188 (Disobedience to order by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and various sections under the Arms Act.
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