India: Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar to stand trial for murder

Two-time Indian Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar will stand trial for allegedly murdering a fellow wrestler during a stadium brawl last year, a lawyer said on Thursday.

Kumar and 17 others were charged by a Delhi court on Wednesday, more than a year after they were arrested over the death of 23-year-old junior grappler Sagar Dhankar, following a long rivalry between the two groups of wrestlers.

The court said investigators were able to produce enough evidence to proceed against Kumar, who has said that he was innocent, and accused the police of framing him.

Prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old champion of being a "kingpin" in the sensational murder case of May 2021 that shocked India's sports fraternity.

He has been charged with murder, kidnapping, rioting and using deadly weapons. Two of the accused are still on the run, according to prosecutors.

Kumar was arrested after a week-long manhunt following the deadly brawl that was fuelled by personal and professional rivalry between the two players.

Prosecutors allege that Kumar and the other accused beat Dhankar and his friends with clubs and other weapons outside a Delhi stadium, leaving the victim to die.

He was seen in a video — which prosecutors say is authentic — assaulting the junior wrestler, who died in hospital.

Pardeep Rana, a lawyer representing one of the accused, said his client was arrested on trumped-up charges.

"We will disprove the allegations before the court," Rana told AFP.