Chandigarh: Vijender Singh, the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal, is in trouble along with another boxer Ram Singh after Punjab Police arrested drug peddler Anup Singh Kahlon, who in a shocking allegation claimed that the two sportsmen were his clients.
Kahlon has been arrested in the Rs 130 crore drug bust in Mohali following a raid by the Punjab Police on Thursday night on a house outside Chandigah. The police have also arrested two more persons in connection with the drug bust and are looking for one Jagdish Bhola who might have fled abroad. Jagdish Bhola is allegedly emerging as the mastermind who moved several consignments of drugs out from India and received Rs 30 lakh for each consignment.
Suspicions were further aroused when a car belonging to Vijender's wife Archana was found near the house from where the drugs were recovered. However, speaking to CNN-IBN Vijender denied the claims.
'These rumours are false. I have nothing to do with these people. I do not know how my name has come up in this matter. I was in Mumbai for some work and had left my car at NIS Patiala. Nothing was found in my car," said Vijender.
The champion boxer later released a statement. "I completely deny the allegations. I do not know the person in question and I am not involved with him in anyway. I may have met him but don't know him personally or directly. I am more than willing to co-operate with the police on this and I have nothing to hide. My wife's car being found at the scene is just a coincidence. The person in custody is possibly using my name to mislead the authorities and to malign my name and image. My focus is and has always been on my career," he said in the statement.
However, Ram Singh, a member of the Punjab Police force has been detained and is being questioned. Vijender's associates claim that Singh, a close friend of Vijender, would usually drive his car when the boxer was away
Vijender's coach Gurbaksh Sandhu, too, come to the boxer's rescue and said that the car was being used by boxer Ram Singh. Sources say Vijender's car keys were with Ram Singh who had taken the car.
With Vijender being a Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Haryana Police, the force has dispatched a top level officer to assist in the investigations.
In a massive drug haul, the police had recovered heroin worth Rs 130 crore from a flat in Zirakpur, Mohali. The police claimed that Vijender's wife's car was found outside the Zirakpur flat and 10 kilograms of heroin was also recovered from another car. But it has not been confirmed if it was from the boxer's wife's car.
The police said that Kahlon, arrested on March 3, alleged that he supplied small amounts of heroin to Vijender and Ram. Sources said that Kahlon has links in South America and Europe.
SSP Fatehgarh Sahab Hardyal Mann Singh says the investigations are on. "We have recovered 26 kilograms of heroin from two smugglers. This is worth Rs 130 crore. We are expecting more recoveries in coming days. This is a very big scandal. These NRIs have built an international chain."
Sources also added that the accused is allegedly part of a bigger international drug peddling racket. Reportedly Kahlon is a truck driver in Canada and is part of a drug network in Punjab.
Meanwhile, Vijender's brother Manoj said his brother is not involved in the drug deal. "These allegations against my brother are completely baseless and we condemn it. Vijender was in Gurgaon and was not involved in any of these deals. We deny his involvement," said Manoj.
Reportedly, Punjab is a transit point for drug smugglers and the drugs make way from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Reports say 80 per cent of smuggled drug goes undetected.
Vijender won a bronze medal at 2006 Asian Games in Doha, a bronze at 2008 Beijing Olympics and is the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. The boxer was also honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and was 2009 top-ranked boxer in middle-weight category. Ram Singh won silver in Junior National Boxing Championship in 2002, bronze medal in Czech Republic Grand Prix in 2007, gold in AK Misra Senior Men Boxing Championship in 2009 and bronze in international meet in Kazakhstan in 2009.
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