Drugs haul: Vijender not off hook yet, Arjun awardee wrestler kingpin?

As investigations continue into the drugs haul case the police are investigating the involvement of wrestler and former Punjab police official Jagdish Bhola in the case. Police said teams have been sent to different locations to nab wrestler Jagdish Bhola, a former Punjab police cop, named as the kingpin of the gang. Raids were being conducted at his suspected hideouts, they said. Bhola, an Arjun awardee, was recruited in 1993 in Bathinda district and later he was made an inspector following his achievements in wrestling. He came into limelight when he was named for the Arjuna Award and also won the title of ‘Rustum-e-Hind’. [caption id=“attachment_654310” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Bhola was also given the rank of DSP. However, he was first booked for smuggling contraband in 2001 and was declared a proclaimed offender. In January, 2002 Bathinda police registered a case under various sections of the NDPS Act against Bhola for his alleged involvement in drug smuggling. He was also dismissed from service. Asked about reports that boxer Ram Singh, a native of Patiala, purportedly confessed before the police that he had taken heroin at least six times from the arrested peddlers and consumed it with Vijender, SSP HS Mann said, “We are verifying these. I cannot comment further at this stage…. All angles were being probed.” Police had recovered 26 kg of heroin, worth an estimated Rs 130 crore, from Kahlon’s house in Shivalik Vihar in Zirakpur on the city outskirts in Mohali district on Thursday. The SUV, registered in Vijender’s wife Archana’s name, was found by police near the NRI’s house. “We are working hard at the case. We are working round-the-clock going into the depth of the case. Whenever there is something substantial to say, we will make it public,” Mann said. Police of neighbouring Haryana is also keeping an eye on the progress of the case after the name of Vijender Singh, a DSP with them, cropped up. Haryana DGP S N Vashisht told reporters that they were in touch with their Punjab counterparts after the boxer’s name cropped up in the case. “We will decide on further course of action once we get complete details of the case from the Punjab Police,” the Haryana DGP said. Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Mann said that Ram Singh will again be questioned tomorrow. Meanwhile, the two suspects Manpreet Singh and Gabbar Singh, who were arrested by police on Friday, were today produced before a local court and remanded in police custody till March 14. with inputs from PTI