Wrestler murder case: Sushil Kumar's job with Northern Railway at stake

Wrestler Sushil Kumar arrested. Pic/ Pallav Paliwal

Star wrestler Sushil Kumar's application to Delhi government to extend his deputation by a year has been rejected and sent back to his parent department -- Northern Railway. Kumar, who was on deputation with Delhi government since 2015 had already got extension for 2020 and was trying to get it for 2021 too.

"Last week, Delhi government had sent Kumar's file to Northern Railway, mentioning that the state government had rejected his request for extension," a source in Northern Railway told IANS. "The state government also attached First Information Report (FIR) that linked Kumar's name with the murder of 23-year-old wrestler during a brawl on May 4 at Chhatrasal Stadium. Since he has been arrested by Delhi Police, he could lose also his job with Northern Railway also," the source added.

A senior commercial manager with Northern Railway, Kumar was posted by Delhi government as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at Chhatrasal Stadium for development of sports at school level. "He had applied for a one-year extension [again] last month, but the approval was pending," said a Delhi government official. The general manager of Northern Railway, in consultation with other senior officials including legal department, will decide future course of action next week.

Also read: Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar arrested

"It is a tricky situation since Kumar is not physically present in office. Only his file from Delhi government is with us. It mentions that Kumar is not on board with them. Since he is in Delhi Police custody, we will cross-check rules on what course of action should be taken," said a Northern Railway official. Since Kumar is not with Delhi government now, his dominance at the state government-run Chhatrasal Stadium, which is hub of wrestling in North India, has come to an end.

Kumar was recently elected president of School Games Federation of India (SGFI) since he was part of Delhi government's education department. "He could lose that position too and in future would not be eligible to contest for the post of president of SGFI as he is not associated with the education department," said a source.

The star wrestler was on Sunday arrested from Mundka on the outskirts of Delhi by Delhi Police for alleged involvement in murder of former international wrestler Sagar Dhankar. On Saturday, IANS reported that Kumar was arrested from Jalandhar. Though Delhi Police denied that and said he was arrested from outskirts of Delhi, it confirmed it had sent a team to Punjab to nab the wrestler.

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