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India: Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar spends quiet birthday behind bars in Delhi

New Delhi - Wrestler was remanded to police custody in connection with a murder

It was his birthday on Wednesday, but a day that he would not like to remember, as he spent time in a cell in Delhi, answering probing police officers.

India’s two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar, 38, a wrestler and recipient of the country’s highest honour for sportspersons, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, was remanded to six days police custody in connection with the murder of Sagar Rana, a former junior national wrestling champion at the Chhatrasal stadium in the capital earlier this month.

Ashok Dhankad, the victim’s father, has demanded that the government take back all the awards that were given to Sushil. “We demand a fair probe and strict punishment should be given to him for the offence,” Dhankad told the media. “The government should also take back all the awards given to him.”

The Delhi police is investigating the case and probing whether Sushil has links with gangsters. The police had launched a massive hunt for the award-winning national wrestler after the killing of the junior champion. Sushil has been interrogated several times, but he is learnt to have changed his version quite often.

Police are looking at the possibility of a property dispute that led to the murder of the young wrestler. Four others have also been arrested including members of two rival gangs involved in the dispute.