Sushil Kumar, 4 others' police custody extended by 4 days in Chatrasal stadium case

In a key development in the sensational Sagar Rana murder case, a Delhi Court on Saturday remanded two-time olympian and wrestler Sushil Kumar, along with 4 others to four days of police custody. The six-day of police custody of Kumar was expiring on Saturday and in view of the same, the Delhi Police had filed an application seeking an extension of the police custody. The court, after hearing out the points of the prosecution and the defendant, allowed the application of the police for a four-day remand 'in view of justice'.  

Minutes of the proceeding

During the hearing, Advocate Ashish Kajal appearing for the prosecution, informed the court that the police is seeking a seven-day remand for Kumar with 2 others. He said, "During these 6 days of PC, they didn't co-operate with Investigating agency. Rather they showed reluctance making it difficult for police to Investigate. This is why it is necessary for policy to get further custody".

Pointing out that around 18 people are said to be involved in the said murder, he added that only 8 people have to date been arrested, and the remaining are yet to be traced. He then moved on to talk about evidence and said, "The DVR of CCTV of Sushil Kumar's house is yet to be recovered. Their clothes that they had worn at the time of the incident are yet to be recovered."  He, thereafter, reiterated his request to allow the application so that the police get a 'fair chance to investigate'. 

Taking cognizance of the points of Advocate Kajal, Advocate Pradeep Rana argued against the grant of the police custody. Calling the reason of police (non-cooperation by the accused) a Jhumla excuse, he cited the order of the Delhi High Court, which read 'the accused cannot dance to the tunes of the police'. He added that if in the six days of custody the police were not able to get 'sufficient evidence' from Kumar and the other accused, then they wanted 'something else- probably a forced confession."  Pointing out that whatever grounds mentioned in this application is word to word same to the previous application, he added, "Freedom shouldn't be curtailed of the accused. They are now misusing the custody."

Hearing the argument of both sides, Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Mayank Goel pronounced the order after hearing Delhi Police's Plea seeking 7 days police custody remand of both the accused persons." In the interest of justice, I deem it appropriate to allow the application of the police for four days only," he ordered.

Sushil Kumar arrested

It is pertinent to mention here that the Olympic wrestler, along with his associate, Ajay Kumar, a physical education teacher at Chhatrasal Stadium, was arrested on May 23 after a two-week manhunt. Following this key development, a Delhi Court had remanded Sushil Kumar to 6 days of police custody after the police informed it that Kumar operated 'like a criminal' as he constantly changed his locations and used 14 SIM Cards to avoid being traced by the Delhi Police. 

While in the police custody, Sushil had throughout maintained that he was not present at the crime scene, and had nothing to do with the murder until the police released a video of the crime scene. In the video, a group of men along with Kumar, all armed with sticks can be seen around a man who seemed to be laying on the ground while a man dressed in orange and white can be seen hitting the man. Following this, the victim can be seen being attacked and thrashed with sticks by the other men present at the crime scene.

What is the Chhatrasal Stadium case?

According to sources, on the intervening night of May 4-5, a quarrel had broken between wrestlers at Chhatrasal Stadium which quickly escalated after someone from the group fired shots. The injured wrestlers had to be rushed to the Trauma Centre, Civil Lines, where one of the wrestlers, former junior national champion Sagar Rana succumbed to his injuries. Days later, 24-year-old Prince Dalal from Jhajjar, Haryana was arrested in the case with double-barrel-loaded guns. Another accused in the firing, Sonu Mahal is touted to be a close associate of gangster Kala Jathedi. Sushil Kumar was also named in the crime and the authorities had formed several teams to nab him. However, Kumar denied his involvement and asserted that those involved were not his wrestlers. 

(Credit-PTI)