Vijender quizzed in drugs haul case, refuses to give blood sample

Chandigarh: Olympian boxer Vijender Singh today refused to give his blood sample to the Punjab police which quizzed him for nearly four hours in the drug haul case. Fatehgarh Sahab SSP Hardyal Singh Mann said Vijender “refused” to give samples of his blood and hair during the process of questioning in Panchkula without giving reasons for doing so. “As per the procedure, in the presence of two private witnesses, he was asked for his consent for giving his blood and hair samples required for forensic examination for investigation purpose, which he refused,” the SSP said in a statement. It said, “He was examined by a DSP and Inspector of Punjab Police from 5.00 PM to 8.30 PM” in connection with the FIR filed in the case after the recovery of 26 kg of heroin worth Rs 130 crore from the residence of alleged drug peddler and NRI Anoop Singh Kahlon. [caption id=“attachment_656301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vijender Singh in this file photo. AFP[/caption] Mann said Punjab police tied up with Haryana police for questioning of Vijender, a DSP with the Haryana police. “The team headed by a DSP and Inspector of Punjab police went to Panchkula to the office of Hardeep Singh Doon, IPS, SSP Crime & Telecommunication, Haryana and questioned Vijender Singh in his office regarding the drug case registered last week,” the SSP said. Highly placed sources, however, said that the boxer was quizzed on his links with Kahlon and about the SUV registered in the name of his wife, Archana, found near the NRI’s residence. Instead of asking Vijender to join investigations at Fatehgarh Sahab, where Ram Singh and seven others arrested are being questioned, the Punjab police team drove to a Haryana police set up located on the outskirts of Panchkula town in Haryana on the Chandigarh Naraingarh Highway for grilling him. Vijender’s answers will be tallied with the statements given by his sparring partner Ram Singh and seven other arrested, including Kahlon since last week, the sources said ruling out giving any clean chit to him at this stage. Asked whether Vijender could be called again for questioning, the sources said this option was open. Vijender was questioned about his visits to Kahlon as claimed by his Ram Singh. Vijender, according to the sources, was also quizzed about Ram Singh’s statement that the duo had taken small quantities of the drug as “food supplement”. A senior Punjab police officer earlier said that Vijender had been called for questioning through the Haryana police as the Olympian was working as a DSP with the neighbouring state. The names of Vijender and Ram Singh had emerged after the recovery of heroin worth Rs 130 crore was recovered from Kahlon’s residence in Zirakpur. Police today also interrogated Kulwant Singh, who is lodged in a drug haul case in Tihar Jail. He was brought to Fatehgarh Sahib on a production warrant till March 15. Punjab Police sources also said that dismissed Punjab police DSP Jagdish Bhola, alleged kingpin of the gang, would be arrested soon. Besides Kahlon six others including his driver Kulwinder Singh alias Rockey, Kuldip Singh (father of Rockey), Sandeep Singh (brother-in-law of Rockey), Gabbar Singh, Manpreet Singh Gill alias Mani and a Ludhiana-based pharma company employee Sunil Katyal have been arrested. PTI