SC cancels bail of wrestler Sushil Kumar in murder case

August 13, 2025

New Delhi: The Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted to Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar, a prime suspect in the murder of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar, and directed him to surrender within a week. The bail, previously granted by the Delhi High Court, was challenged by Dhankar’s father through a special leave petition (SLP) which the Supreme Court allowed.

Sushil Kumar, along with others, is accused of assaulting Dhankar and his two companions in the parking lot of Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4, 2021, reportedly over a property dispute. He has remained in custody since June 2, 2021, until the High Court granted bail in March this year.

Kumar had evaded arrest for 18 days after Dhankar’s death, during which Delhi Police say he traveled through Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana before being captured in Delhi’s Mundka area while reportedly collecting cash and borrowing a scooter from a senior athlete. He was subsequently suspended from his railway job.

In October 2022, a Delhi trial court framed charges against Kumar and 17 others under various IPC provisions, including murder, rioting, and criminal conspiracy. The police charge sheet has named Kumar as the alleged kingpin of the murder conspiracy. A former bronze medalist at Beijing 2008 and silver medalist at London 2012, Kumar faces trial in the case.