Delhi court grants four-day interim bail to Olympian Sushil Kumar to perform father's last rites
New Delhi, Mar 6: A Delhi court on Monday granted four-day interim bail to Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar, the main accused in the murder case of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar, on humanitarian grounds for performing the last rites of his father.
Kumar has been in judicial custody since June 2, 2021.
"Keeping in view the fact that the father of the accused expired yesterday and his last rites are to be carried out today itself, on humanitarian grounds, the applicant or accused be released on interim bail from March 6 to March 9 only on furnishing personal bonds of the sum of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of the like amount," Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand said.
The judge further said that keeping in view the threat perception of the witnesses and also considering the safety and security of Kumar, at least two security personnel have to accompany him round the clock.
"The entire expenditure of deployment of security persons or policemen for keeping surveillance and security of the applicant shall be borne by his family members," the court said.
The amount has to be deposited in advance with the concerned jail superintendent as per the prison rules, it said.
"Applicant is directed to surrender before the Jail Superintendent concerned after expiry of interim bail period i.e, on March 10," the court said.
The other conditions for the interim relief include Kumar not threatening the prosecution witnesses, tampering with evidence or indulging in any crime and sharing his phone's live location as and when required by the investigating officer (IO).
"In case it is prima facie brought to the notice of the court that the applicant is violating the said conditions, the interim bail granted to him shall be liable to be cancelled," the court said.
It said that a copy of its order should be sent to the concerned jail superintendent for "information and compliance".
During the hearing, Kumar's advocate sought interim bail on the ground that the applicant's presence as the eldest son was required at the cremation of his father on Monday afternoon and the ashes would be immersed only on March 9 as Tuesday and Wednesday were inauspicious according to Hindu beliefs.
The advocate told the court that Kumar's father passed away on Sunday night at a private hospital.
Kumar and others are accused of allegedly assaulting former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar and his friends Jai Bhagwan and Bhagat in the parking lot of the city's Chhatrasal Stadium on May 4, 2021, over an alleged property dispute.
Dhankar later succumbed to injuries.
The present court had framed charges for the offence of murder and criminal conspiracy against Kumar and 17 others on October 12 last year.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
