Railway orders suspension of wrestler Sushil Kumar after his arrest in murder case

The Northern Railway issued an order on Tuesday suspending wrestler Sushil Kumar following his arrest by the Delhi Police in a murder case.

Olympic medallist Kumar was arrested, along with his associate and co-accused Ajay, from outer Delhi’s Mundka area on May 23 for his alleged involvement in the death of a 23-year-old wrestler at Chhatrasal Stadium.

A senior commercial manager with the Northern Railway, Kumar had been on deputation with the Delhi government since 2015 and was posted as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at Chhatrasal Stadium for development of sports at school level.

His deputation was extended in 2020 and Kumar had applied for an extension for 2021 as well which had been rejected by the Delhi government and he was sent back to his parent cadre — Northern Railway — officials said.

“A case against Sushil Kumar, (Adhoc)JAG/ IRTS, on premature repatriation to Northern Railway from NDMC, in respect of a criminal offence is under investigation. He was detained in police custody on 23rd May, 2021 for a period exceeding forty-eight hours.

“Now, therefore Sushil Kumar JAG/ (Adhoc) IRTS is deemed to have been suspended with effect from the date of detention i.e. 23rd May, 2021 in terms of Rule 5 (2) of (D&A) Rules, 1968 and shall remain under suspension until further orders,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar said.

Senior officials have said that if a government servant is found involved in grievous crimes, he or she is usually suspended till the case is underway.