The Delhi high court on Tuesday (March 4) granted bail to Olympian wrestler Sushil Kumar, the prime accused in the murder case of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar.

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Justice Sanjeev Narula’s bench ordered Kumar’s release on bail upon furnishing a bond of $570 along with two sureties of the same amount.

Sushil Kumar, along with several others, is accused of assaulting Dhankar and his two friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, in the parking lot of Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4, 2021, reportedly over a property dispute. Dhankar succumbed to his injuries due to cerebral damage caused by blunt force trauma, as per the post-mortem report.

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Finding a prima facie case for murder against the accused, the trial court, while framing charges against the accused persons, had noted that the deceased, after being abducted and brought to the stadium, was given severe beatings by many of the accused persons who used sticks, baseball and hockey sticks to cause bodily injuries to him.

The judge had further noted that the victims were tortured by the accused persons for a prolonged time after putting lock at the main gate of the stadium so as to rule out any help for the deceased.

Kumar had been in judicial custody since June 2, 2021. Previously, he was granted interim bail twice—once to perform his father’s last rites and another time for surgery on a torn ligament.

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Following Dhankar’s death, Kumar evaded authorities for 18 days, traveling across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana before being arrested in Delhi’s Mundka area while attempting to collect cash. He was also suspended from his job with the Railways after his arrest.

In October 2022, the trial court framed charges against Kumar and 17 others, initiating the legal proceedings against them.