Indian Olympic medallist to watch Games from behind bars

Wrestler Sushil Kumar has been incarcerated on charges of kidnap and murder of fellow athlete Sagar Dhankad

NEW DELHI:

India's two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar will be catching all the action at the Tokyo Games from inside the jail where he is incarcerated on charges of kidnap and murder.

A television has been arranged in the common area of Tihar jail in New Delhi after a request by Kumar's lawyer to prison authorities.

"We have allowed Sushil to watch television in the common area of his ward along with others," Sandeep Goel, director general of Delhi prisons, told reporters.

"He had made a request through his lawyer for a TV to stay updated about wrestling matches and other happenings."

Kumar, 38, was arrested in May after a week-long manhunt over the murder of promising wrestler Sagar Dhankad at a stadium in the capital.

Kumar, who is the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals, has pleaded innocent and accused police of a biased investigation.

He won the freestyle wrestling silver at the 2012 London Games after bagging a bronze at the Beijing Olympics four years earlier.

He has also won three Commonwealth Games golds and was awarded India's highest honour for athletes in 2009.

Last month, a Delhi court had dismissed an application by Kumar seeking special food and supplements in prison.

Kumar is lodged in a separate cell in Tihar for security reasons.