Chhatrasal Stadium brawl: Delhi court dismisses anticipatory bail plea of wrestler Sushil Kumar

New Delhi [India], May 18 : A Delhi Court on Tuesday dismissed an anticipatory bail application filed by Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl.
The Court noted that allegations against wrestler Sushil Kumar are serious in nature.
"From the perusal of the record of investigation so far, it reveals that prima facie the applicant/accused (Sushil Kumar) is the main conspirator and FIR is not an encyclopedia, " Additional Sessions Judge Jagdish Kumar said.
The Court said that the investigation is still underway and some of the accused persons have not been arrested so far and the non bailable warrants (NBWs) have already been issued against the applicant/accused Sushil Kumar.
"The Court is not making any observations on the facts as submitted before it because it is the stage of anticipatory bail and giving any observation may prejudice the parties vice versa, " the court said.
The Court also noted that the statements of the eyewitnesses are there and said that "at this stage, the court does not incline to grant anticipatory bail to Sushil Kumar."
Sushil Kumar was represented by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra and lawyer RS Jakhar, while Delhi Police was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava.
Sushil Kumar counsel said that he is the only Indian to have won two Olympic medals in an individual sport and allegations against him are unfounded, baseless, scurrilous, and preposterous, which have been made against him maliciously with the only motive to humiliate and injure his reputation.
Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava urged the court to dismiss Sushil Kumar's plea on the ground that there is electronic evidence against him where he could be seen hitting with a stick.
Sushil Kumar's counsel questioned the aspect of seizure of his passport and the police are silent on this aspect.
The Public Prosecutor says that "we are proud of Sushil Kumar and his passport is kept as they were apprehending that he might flee from the country".
PP Shrivastava also submitted that a non-bailable warrant has been issued against Sushil Kumar. So, respecting the court's order, they have to arrest him.
In his bail application, Sushil Kumar counsel said that "the gravamen of the allegations against the Applicant (Kumar) is that on May 5, 2021, the applicant was allegedly involved in a brawl in the parking of Chhatrasal Stadium (where the Applicant is allotted accommodation) with three persons named Sonu, Sagar Dhankad and Amit Kumar. To the knowledge of the petitioner, Sonu is a history-sheeter and is a member of Kala Jatheria's gang and has various criminal cases against him. "
An incident of a brawl among wrestlers was reported on May 4 in which some wrestlers were injured and they had to be admitted to a hospital and one of them died during treatment.
Wrestler Sushil is seen as one of the most successful athletes in the country as he won a silver medal in the 2012 London Olympics, and four years earlier, he had taken home a bronze medal in Beijing Olympics.
Delhi Police has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information that leads to the arrest of wrestler Sushil Kumar, who is on the run in connection with the case.
Also, a reward of Rs 50,000 has been announced for Ajay, who is also on the run in the same case, Delhi Police officials said.