A screenshot of a video showing Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar and his friends beating another wrestler with sticks surfaced on social media on Thursday, 27 May, days after the wrestler was arrested for murder of a 23-year-old man.
The visual shows Kumar and his company surrounding and hitting Sagar Dhankar, who is seen whimpering on the ground. Dhankar succumbed to injuries later.
As per the police, Sushil Kumar’s friend recorded the video of the perpetrated act to terrorise the local wrestling circuit and prove the mob’s dominance in the area, NDTV reported.
Speaking to the court, the police said, "Sushil had asked (his friend) Prince to make that video. He and his associates thrashed the victims like animals. He wanted to establish his fear in the wrestling community," NDTV quoted.
By Friday morning, the Delhi Police had arrested eight persons, including a Rohit Karor, in the murder case at Chhatrasal Stadium.
Background
Sushil allegedly beat up the 23-year-old and two of his friends during a brawl in the Chhatrasal Stadium parking area on 4 May and had been on the run for over three weeks before getting arrested on Sunday, 23 May, by the Delhi Police. All three had to be hospitalised.
On 18 May, Sushil Kumar filed an anticipatory bail application at Delhi’s Rohini court, in which he argued the investigation against him was biased, and the allegations levelled on him had an ulterior motive to dent his reputation. However, the court later dismissed his plea, and noted that he was "prima facie the main conspirator" and allegations against him were serious in nature.
Subsequently, the Olympic gold-medalist was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell team on Sunday, 23 May. By Tuesday, the police confirmed the arrest of Bhupender (38 years), Mohit (22 years), Gulab (24 years), and Manjeet (29 years) from Kanjhawala area in the national capital in connection to the case.
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