India Olympic medallist arrested over murder case after manhunt

NEW DELHI: Two-time Olympic wrestling medallist Sushil Kumar was arrested on Sunday, Indian police said, after a week-long manhunt over the alleged murder of a fellow athlete.

Kumar went into hiding after 24-year-old Sagar Dhankad was badly beaten during a brawl between two groups of wrestlers at a stadium in the capital New Delhi on May 4.

Dhankad, a former junior champion who was training as a senior wrestler, later died in hospital.

Kumar was arrested early Sunday in northwest Delhi with another suspect, Delhi police said.

“They were switching their location when they were arrested,” the police officer told AFP.

Police had offered a reward of 100,000 rupees ($1,370) for information leading to the arrest of the 37-year-old star after two of Dhankad’s associates injured in the fight named Kumar as one of the attackers.

But Kumar, via his lawyers, had said he was innocent and accused police of a biased investigation.