File photo of Sushil Kumar.
Olympic medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar on Monday moved a Delhi court for bail in the Chhatrasal Stadium massacre, saying the police made up a false case and projected his “guilty image”.
Kumar had allegedly assaulted former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankhar and his friends at the stadium in May over an alleged property dispute with others. Dhankhar later died.
Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand will hear the bail plea on Tuesday.
Advocate Nitin Vashisht, appearing for the victim and complainant Sonu, submitted that Kumar should not be released on bail as more accused are yet to be arrested and they may influence witnesses along with Kumar.
The international wrestler, who has been in jail since June 2, 2021, sought relief from the court stating that he has been falsely implicated in the alleged murder case and the charges have been leveled with the intent and purpose of humiliating him and hurting his reputation.
In the petition, he said the “unfortunate demise” of a budding wrestler was sensationalized and was exploited against him by vested interests.
The Olympian insisted that the police left no stone unturned in projecting a “false and guilty image” of him and misinformed the media to falsely establish links between him and famous gangsters.
“They even went so far as to create a peculiar image of the present accused, where he himself was described as a gangster and even questions were raised against his antecedents,” Kumar said in the 16-page bail plea.
However, after the filing of the chargesheet, all the claims and leaks made by the investigating agency are untrue and without genuineness, said the petition filed through advocate Pradeep Rana.
To substantiate his arguments, he said that the FIR was lodged after delay, and the statements of the witnesses were affected by corrections and contractions, and were deliberately withheld by the investigating agency to create a “false case”. .
“At the end of the investigation, the investigating agency produced a new version that the deceased had given a dying declaration to the police officers in order to cut the otherwise toothless case of the prosecution,” Kumar said.
He also called the FIR a combined mixture of “assumption, presumption and malicious intent”, adding that the police arrested him in the absence of concrete evidence.
The wrestler further stated that he does not require any custodial interrogation, much less any recovery or discovery of incriminating material as the charge sheet has been filed which shows that the investigation against him is over.
Kumar said nothing incriminating was found from him which confirms his innocence but the probe agency has attributed certain vehicles and weapons to make a case against him.
The wrestler further told the court that he has a long history and has never violated any law.
“The accused has won many honors while representing India and made the country proud by winning medals in many international tournaments and championships,” the petition said.
The Olympic wrestler submitted that he is convinced to prove his innocence before any court and any detention at this stage would be pre-trial imprisonment without guilt only if he is innocent.
Police had earlier said that the brawl at the stadium was a result of a conspiracy hatched by Kumar, who wanted to re-establish his dominance among the young wrestlers.
Kumar, along with 12 other accused, are named in the chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in August.
The Delhi Police had registered an FIR against the accused under sections including murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, dacoity, rioting and other sections.
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