Indian wrestler and an Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was accused of involvement in a murder case of a 23-year-old Indian wrestler. He was later arrested by Delhi Police in May. But does that mean that Kumar’s bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver medal from the 2012 London Olympics is in jeopardy?
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Going back to a similar instance, Oscar Pistorius, a former South African sprinter was put on trial for Reeva Steenkamp’s murder case in 2014. He was later convicted as he was found guilty of the murder. However, the sprinter did not lose any of his eight Paralympic medals.
The Olympic Charter says that violations related to “Olympic Charter, the World Anti-Doping Code, or of any other decision or applicable regulation issued by the IOC or any International Federation or National Olympic Committee, including but not limited to the IOC Code of Ethics, the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions or of any applicable public law or regulation, or in case of any form of misbehaviour”.
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Kumar was arrested on May 29 in connection with the murder of wrestler Sagar Dhankar, who reportedly died during a brawl in the Chhatrasal Stadium in North Delhi on May 4. But it seems that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), regardless of what the current investigation on the murder case results to, will not be stripping Kumar of his medals.