Indian Olympic medalist Kumar on trial for murdering fellow wrestler, latest other news

NEW DELHI – Two-time Indian Olympic medalist Sushir Kumar will face trial on suspicion of killing a fellow wrestler during a brawl at a stadium last year, his lawyer said Thursday.

Kumar and 17 others were indicted by a Delhi court on Wednesday, more than a year after being arrested over the death of 23-year-old junior grappler Sagar Dhankar after a lengthy rivalry between two groups of wrestlers. rice field.

The court said investigators were able to produce enough evidence to file a case against Kumar.

Prosecutors have accused the 39-year-old champion of being the “kingpin” in a sensational murder in May 2021 that shocked the Indian sports world.

He has been charged with murder, kidnapping, rioting and the use of deadly weapons. Two of the suspects are still at large, prosecutors said.

Kumar was arrested after a week-long search following a deadly brawl fueled by a personal and professional rivalry between the two players.

Prosecutors said Kumar and the other accused beat Dunker and his friend with clubs and other weapons outside the Delhi stadium, leaving the victim to die.

He was seen in a video (which prosecutors say is real) of beating a former junior wrestler who died in a hospital.

Pardeep Rana, a lawyer representing the defendant, said his client was arrested on trumped-up charges.

“I will disprove the allegations in court,” Lana told AFP.

Considered one of India’s greatest sportsmen, Kumar is the only person to have won two individual Olympic medals, a silver in freestyle wrestling at the London 2012 Games and a bronze at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. is.

He has also represented India in other international competitions, winning three Commonwealth Games gold and one gold at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow.

He was awarded the highest honor for an Indian athlete in 2009.

The former champion is being held in a separate cell at Delhi’s Tihar Prison for security reasons. -AFPMore