Sushil Kumar to turn wrestling coach for his fellow inmates at Tihar Jail

Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, lodged in Tihar Jail in the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl case, will soon be giving coaching classes on wrestling and physical fitness to his fellow inmates, prison authorities said on Friday.

The development comes in view of a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases across the national capital and inside prison premises, they said.

The Tihar Jail administration said they had earlier planned to involve Kumar in sports activities, but the plan had to be halted in view of the third wave of COVID-19 in Delhi.

"We had decided to allow this earlier but could not do so in view of the third wave of Covid. Now, with the normalisation of the situation, routine activities in prisons are being restored. So, we will allow Sushil Kumar to give coaching classes on wrestling and physical fitness to other inmates who are interested," Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel told PTI.

Prison officials said since Kumar is a trained professional wrestler, his coaching classes on fitness and wrestling will benefit inmates who want to learn a new sport and will also help them stay fit and healthy.

It will keep the inmates engaged and give them a sense of positivity that their energy is being utilised through a proper channel in the right direction, they said.

It will also help them focus on their daily routine, the officials added.

In September 2021, before the third wave of COVID-19 hit the national capital, the Delhi Prisons Department had started an initiative to impart professional training to inmates of Tihar Jail in various sports.

Under the initiative, sponsored by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) as part of its CSR project, the inmates were being trained in six sports -- kho-kho, volleyball, badminton, basketball, chess and carrom.

Kumar was arrested along with co-accused Ajay Kumar on May 23 last year from outer Delhi's Mundka area in the Chhatrasal Stadium case and is currently lodged in Central Jail No. 2 of Tihar.

He and his associates allegedly assaulted wrestler Sagar Dhankar and two of his friends, Sonu and Amit Kumar, on the intervening night of May 4 and 5 over a property dispute.

Dhankar, 23, succumbed to injuries later.

The first charge sheet which was filed by the police on August 2 last year named 13 accused, including Sushil Kumar as the main accused.

There are a total of 17 accused in the case, according to the police.

In the first charge sheet, the police had said that the brawl at the stadium was the result of a conspiracy hatched by Sushil Kumar, who wanted to re-establish his supremacy among younger wrestlers.

The Delhi Police had filed an FIR against the accused of murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery and rioting among other charges.