Sagar Dhankar murder: Delhi Court grants custody parole to accused to take class 12 exam

After denying the murder and other charges, Sushil Kumar and 17 other accused were ordered to stand trial on October 15. The accused could not be brought before the judge due to security concerns.

Image Credit: ANI; Representational Image

New Delhi: Gaurav Laura has been granted custody parole on Wednesday from a Delhi Court, to take his class 12 exam in Jhajjar, Haryana, on November 5 and 9. Gaurav Laura is a suspect in the murder of Sagar Dhankar. Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar is one of 18 people charged in the case. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Shivaji Anand of Rohini Court granted Gaurav Laura custody parole from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on November 5 and 9, 2022, to appear in the class 12 exam. The accused is a class 12 student, and his exam is scheduled for November 5 and 9, 2022, with times ranging from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm on November 5:05 pm and 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm on November 9, 2022.

Gaurav had previously been granted parole based on an exam, according to the court. As a result, the court application is dismissed, with the condition that the applicant/accused deposit Rs. 20,000 on November 4 and bear the remaining expenses, as ordered by the court on November 2. Gaurav is a National Institute of Open Schooling student currently enrolled in class 12th, according to the application filed on his behalf. His final exams are scheduled for November 5 and 9. The accused's counsel stated that he also filed a copy of the Hall Ticket/Admit card, and that the applicant's exam location is Delhi Public School, Bahadurgarh Jhajjar, Haryana.

The accused's counsel requested that he be granted custody parole so that he could take the aforementioned exams. The State's Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) has objected to the application, claiming that the applicant must take the exams in another state, which will impose an unnecessary financial burden on the State because an extra escort must accompany him. The accused's counsel stated that if custody parole is granted to the applicant/accused, the applicant is willing to incur expenses of Rs. 20,000 and requested that the rest of the expenses be borne by the State.

Sushil Kumar and 17 other accused were ordered to stand trial on October 15 after they denied the murder and other charges. Due to security concerns, the accused could not be brought before the judge. The court scheduled the trial and prosecution evidence to begin on November 10, 2022.

(With ANI inputs)