Punjab Police question Vijender Singh in drugs haul case

Chandigarh: International boxer and Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh was Monday questioned by a team of Punjab Police officers in the seizure of a huge quanity of heroin in the state last week. Vijender was questioned by the Punjab Police team at a police establishment in Panchkula town, 20 km from here. Police sources said that four Punjab Police officers, including two deputy superintendents of police, questioned the boxer at the Haryana Police lines near Panchkula town. The questioning, which started around 5.30 pm Monday, continued till late into the night. The Fatehgarh Sahib district police had recovered 26 kg heroin, worth Rs 130 crore in the international market, from the possession of Canada-based drugs dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon and had arrested him Thursday. The drug haul was made from Kahlon’s flat in Zirakpur, near Chandigarh and his car. [caption id=“attachment_656251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vijender Singh in this file photo. AFP[/caption] Police also found a SUV, registered in the name of Vijender’s wife Archana, parked outside Kahlon’s flat. Kahlon reportedly told the police that Vijender and fellow boxer Ram Singh were his “clients”. Though police have so far refrained from directly linking Vijender with the drugs haul, Ram Singh’s statements to the police have seen his name figuring in the controversy. “Vijender was in touch with some Mumbai celebrities, who were regular in rave parties and took drugs. Therefore, we also tried it. However, we did not pay anything to Kahlon for drugs,” Ram Singh said. Ram Singh and Vijender are very close friends and they were roommates at National Institute of Sports (NIS) for nearly six years. Vijender had allegedly promoted Ram Singh in various platforms by using his influence. Vijender has denied any involvement in the drugs racket. He offered to undergo dope testing to prove himself. Vijender’s close friend and room-mate for nearly 15 years at NIS-Patiala, Jai Bhagwan, rubbished reports of the popular boxer’s involvement in the drugs smuggling racket. He said that Vijender’s name was being unnecessarily dragged into the issue. IANS