Setback for Sushil Kumar; SC orders Olympic medallist to surrender within a week in Sagar Dhankar murder case

Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has been handed a fresh setback in the murder case of junior wrestler Sagar Dhankar on Wednesday (August 13) after India’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender within a week. The apex court's order comes as a huge setback for Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, followed by a silver medal in the 2012 London Olympics. He was granted bail in March and is the prime accused in the murder of Sagar Dhankar, which occurred in May 2021 at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium.

Sushil Kumar ordered to surrender within a week

“The Supreme Court has cancelled the bail of wrestler Sushil Kumar in a murder case and has ordered him to surrender within a week,” ANI was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old wrestler was on bail granted by the Delhi High Court on 4 March 2025, having been the prime accused in the Sagar Dhankar murder case.

Justice Sanjeev Narula’s bench ordered Sushil’s release on bail upon furnishing a bond of $570 along with two sureties of the same amount. It was the third bail Sushil had been granted since his capture in 2021. The first bail was granted to perform the last rites of his father, while the High Court granted him another bail to undergo surgery on his torn ligament.

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What is the Sagar Dhankar murder case?

On 4 May 2021, Sushil and his aides gave a harsh beating with hockey sticks to junior wrestler Sagar Dhankar at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium. The dispute was triggered over a property issue, during which Sushil and his aides attacked Dhankar. The junior wrestler would later succumb to his injuries, after which Sushil Kumar went missing for 18 days.

The two-time Olympic medallist was hiding from the Delhi police while on a run in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana.