Olympian Sushil Kumar’s gun licence to be suspended permanently
New Delhi The Delhi Police on Tuesday said they have suspended the firearms licence given to two-time Olympic medallist and world champion wrestler Sushil Kumar, who has been arrested in connection with the murder of 23-year-old wrestler Sagar Dhankad
New Delhi The Delhi Police on Tuesday said they have suspended the firearms licence given to two-time Olympic medallist and world champion wrestler Sushil Kumar, who has been arrested in connection with the murder of 23-year-old wrestler Sagar Dhankad. Police said they have also initiated the process to cancel the licence permanently.
The firearm, for which licence was issued to Kumar in 2012, has already been seized by the crime branch team investigating Dhankad’s murder case. Police officers privy to the investigation said they have already arrested nine people, including Kumar, in the case so far.
“We have suspended the arms licence of the arrested wrestler, Sushil Kumar, as he was booked in a criminal case. The process for cancellation of his licence has been initiated. He has been served a notice, seeking his explanation on why the cancellation of licence should not be done,” said joint commissioner of police (licencing) OP Mishra.
A senior police officer privy to the development said that the notice was served to Kumar on Monday and further action would be taken as per his reply, for which he has been given 15-20 days. The procedure for suspension of Kumar’s arms licence was initiated after the Model Town police station, where Dhankad’s murder case was registered, and the crime branch submitted their reports to the licencing unit, informing about the murder case he was arrested in and the seizure of his licenced gun. A request was made in both the reports to cancel Kumar’s gun licence, the officer said.
“Taking the reports into consideration and the fact that Kumar was arrested in a criminal case, we suspended his arms licence and initiated the procedure for its cancellation,” added joint CP Mishra.
Kumar is presently in the crime branch’s custody and will be produced before a Delhi court on Wednesday, when his four-day police custody ends. The investigation team is likely to seek further extension of Kumar’s custody to recover his mobile phone and clothes that he was wearing at the time of the crime.
On Monday, the crime branch team took Kumar and Bakkarwala to Haridwar to identify the places where he stayed while absconding in the case and to recover his mobile phone and the clothes he was wearing at the time of the crime. However, the recoveries could not be made.
The police are still looking for four more suspects who are wanted in Dhankad’s murder case.
Advocate Pradeep Rana, who is representing Sushil Kumar, said, “The suspension of Sushil’s arm’s license is not in accordance with the law and there is no cause of action for Delhi Police to act in such hasty and unconstitutional manner and the same is in stark violation of natural justice and right to be heard. The involvement of the said weapon in the alleged incident is a matter of trial but prima facie there were no alleged gun shot injuries. Therefore, it is apparent that the investigating agency is acting in a malafide manner and trying to malign the image of a two- time Olympic medalist. It is incorrect that Sushil has not cooperated with the investigation agency. He is a law abiding citizen and he has duly cooperated with the investigating agency. However, since the investigation agency has failed to justify considerable period of police custody of 10 days, they are making these false claims just to cover up the lacuna in investigation.”
Kumar was arrested along with his associate, Ajay Bakkarwala, on May 23, from outer Delhi’s Mundka, 19 days after the duo and at least 11 others allegedly thrashed Dhankad and his friend Sonu Mahal with sticks and other blunt objects at Chhatrasal Stadium. Dhankad later succumbed to his injuries, prompting the police to register a murder case and look out for the suspects involved in the crime.
A video footage purportedly showing Kumar and others assaulting Dhankad was allegedly found on the cellphone of Kumar’s associate, Prince, who was the first to be arrested in the case. Prince had allegedly told the interrogators that it was Kumar who had asked him to shoot the assault video as he wanted to circulate it in the wrestling circle and also among his rivals to prove his dominance, the officer cited above said.
The case was initially investigated by the northwest district’s Model Town police station’s team and later transferred to the crime branch.