Vijender and I mistook drugs for food supplement: Boxer Ram Singh tells police

March 10, 2013

Vijender_and_Boxer_Ram_SinghNew Delhi, Mar 10: Hours after confessing to have met drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon and purchasing heroin from him, boxer Ram Singh has now admitted that he and star boxer Vijender Singh took drugs thinking it was food supplement.

According to sources, during questioning, Ram Singh told Punjab police officials that he and Vijender mistook drugs for food supplement.

The police is yet to question Olympic medallist Vijender Singh in the case.

Ram Singh told the police that he and Vijender Singh bought heroin from drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon. Ram Singh said he and Vijender Singh are not habitual users.

Ram Singh said he and Vijender had met drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon 3-4 times since December.

Olympic medallist Vijender Singh got a nasty punch on Friday after being linked to a Rs 130 crore heroin haul and cops said the suspects included his friend and sparring partner, national level boxer Ram Singh, who was detained and interrogated by Punjab police.

The Beijing bronze medal-winning boxer immediately denied any links with suspected druglord Anoop Singh Kahlon, accused of stashing 26kg of heroin in an apartment in Zirakpur, on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Cops raided the apartment after getting information from Kahlon, who was arrested on March 3. He told cops that he knew the champion and Ram Singh.

Singh was detained and questioned by the police on Friday after it was found he drove Vijender's Ford Endeavour to Kahlon's Zirakpur apartment, where the keys to the boxer's SUV were found. The Endeavour is registered in Vijender's wife's name.

In all, 26kg of heroin was recovered in two consignments, including 16 kg in the flat belonging to the Canadian NRI and drug kingpin Kahlon late on Thursday. Another 10kg of drugs was found in a Hyundai Accent, belonging to Kahlon, parked outside the flat. Kahlon and his accomplice Rocky were arrested by the police from neighbouring Fatehgarh Sahib district on March 3 on drug trafficking charges.

"We've not yet established the role of either Vijender or Ram Singh," said senior superintendent of police Hardyal Singh in Fatehgarh. "But we can confirm that both Vijender and Ram knew Kahlon and his accomplice, Rocky. We have evidence of this, but we cannot disclose this now," he added.

Ludhiana DIG MH Farooqui told reporters, "Many sportspersons have figured in drug rackets in the past. In this racket, too, some sportspersons are involved. Even Kahlon is a former shot putter."

Vijender, a DSP rank officer with Haryana police, denied links with Kahlon. "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."

The 27-year-old middleweight boxer said he had lent his SUV to Ram Singh, who shares his room at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala. Ram Singh is a Punjab police head constable.

"My name is unnecessarily being dragged in this drug smuggling scandal," Vijender said. "TV channels are talking about the car link but nothing was recovered from it. I was in Mumbai for two days when the raid took place and my wife Archana had dropped me at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday. The car is registered in her name and sometimes my friends in boxing circles use it when I am away," Vijender told TOI on Friday.

Asked why his SUV was parked outside the flat in Zirakpur, Vijender said, "Ram Singh is a good friend and helps me in training. He took the keys in my absence. I tried calling him after learning about all this but his phone was switched off. I meet a lot of people who can claim to know me. I have never done anything wrong. I am ready for an investigation. I am sure the truth will come out," he said.

Four people including Kahlon have been arrested so far. SSP Hardyal did not confirm if there was recovery of drug from Vijender's SUV.

However, in separate recoveries, SSP Hardyal said cash worth Rs 1 crore, Rs 8.7 lakh, and drugs used in rave parties were recovered. "These are separate recoveries. The fresh drugs are those used by celebrities in parties," he said.

When Vijender, who gave India its first Olympic medal in boxing in 2008, was asked if all this would affect his training, he said, "There will be slight distraction but then such is life, there are ups and downs."

Late on Friday, fresh drug recoveries and two more arrests took place: Two Mohali-based men, Manpreet Singh and Gabbar Singh, were arrested with Rs 1 crore cash and 20 kg of chemicals and 2 kg heroin on them. These raids follow Kahlon's questioning.

The police said Jagdish Bhola, a former Punjab Police cop and a wrestler, is the kingpin of the entire racket. There is a Delhi connection as well, as many of the drugs in fresh recoveries were meant for rave parties.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Milan, Mar 28: Juventus star Paulo Dybala revealed how he "struggled to breathe" after contracting coronavirus which has killed over 9,000 people in Italy.

The Argentine international announced last Saturday he was one of three Juventus players to catch the virus along with Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi, who both had no symptoms.

"I feel better now after some strong symptoms," the 26-year-old Dybala told JTV channel.

"A couple of days ago I was not well, I felt heavy and after five minutes of movement I had to stop because I was struggling to breathe.

"Now I can move and walk to start trying to train, because when I tried in the past few days I started to shake too much.

"I gasped for air and as a result I couldn't do anything, after five minutes I was already very tired, I felt the body heavy and my muscles hurt.

"Now I'm fine. My fiancee Oriana (Sabatini) has also overcome the symptoms."

Dybala has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, including in league leader's Juventus's last game against Inter Milan before Serie A and all sport in Italy was suspended.

"The goal against Inter was the greatest emotion, (Aaron) Ramsey provided the perfect assist - it's a pity that there was no public," added Dybala.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Berlin, May 17: Top-flight football in Germany kicked off again on the weekend, becoming the first major sports league in the world to resume play, as parts of Europe took more tentative steps towards normality after the devastation unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the worldwide death toll past 310,000 and the global economy reeling from the vast damage caused by lockdowns, the reopenings in some of the hardest-hit countries provided much-needed relief from the pandemic.

The French returned to the beach and Italy announced a resumption of European tourism with outbreaks in Europe slowing, but the rising number of fatalities in the United States and Brazil were a grim reminder of the scale of the crisis, with more than 4.6 million infections reported globally.

With governments trying to reopen their economies while avoiding the second wave of infections that could necessitate more lockdowns, Germany's Bundesliga resumed its season on Saturday with games played in vacant, echoing stadiums.

League heavyweights Borussia Dortmund hosted rivals Schalke at the all-but-empty Signal Iduna Park -- which would usually be packed with more than 80,000 raucous fans.

"It's sad that matches are played in empty stadiums, but it's better than nothing," said 45-year-old Borussia Dortmund fan Marco Perz, beer in hand, as he prepared to watch the game on TV.

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland became the first player to score a goal after the two-month shutdown and celebrated by dancing alone -- away from his applauding teammates -- in keeping with the strict hygiene guidelines which allowed the league to resume.

The only noise was the cheering and clapping of players and coaches.

League champions Bayern Munich will play Union Berlin in the capital on Sunday, with the resumption in Germany seen as a test case as other top sports competitions try to find ways to resume play without increasing health risks.

"The whole world will be looking at Germany, to see how we get it done," said Bayern boss Hansi Flick.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, however, said Saturday he needed more guarantees before the government can give the green light for the resumption of its top football league, which is struggling with logistical difficulties as clubs try to arrange training sessions and quarantine facilities.

With the Northern Hemisphere's summer approaching, authorities are moving to help tourism industries salvage something from the wreckage.

Italy, for a long stretch the world's worst-hit country, announced that European Union tourists would be allowed to visit from June 3 and a 14-day mandatory quarantine would be scrapped.

"We're facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again," Conte said during a televised address.

"We have to accept it otherwise we will never be able to start up again."

In France, the first weekend after the strictest measures were lifted saw many ventures out into the spring sunshine -- and hit the beach.

In the Riviera city of Nice, keen swimmers jumped into the surf at daybreak.

"We were impatient because we swim here all year round," said retiree Gilles, who declined to give his full name.

With the threat of a second wave of infections on their minds, authorities in many countries have asked people not to throng public spaces like beaches as they are made accessible again.

Officials in parts of England on Saturday warned people to stay away from newly reopened beauty spots and avoid overcrowding.

Germany also saw the latest in a growing wave of anti-lockdown protests in many parts of the world, with rallies in major cities bringing together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine activists and other extremists.

There were similar protests in France, Switzerland and Poland.

Since emerging in China late last year, the coronavirus has whipped up a catastrophic economic storm, which has left tens of millions unemployed in the United States and many are wondering when a recovery will be possible.

With more than 88,000 deaths and 1.47 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the United States is the worst-hit country on the planet, and the administration of President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism of the way it has handled the crisis.

Former president Barack Obama took a swipe at the response to the pandemic, telling graduates at a virtual commencement ceremony that many leaders today "aren't even pretending to be in charge" -- a remark widely regarded as a rare rebuke of his successor.

Trump is keen to reopen the US economy -- the world's largest -- despite warnings from experts that infections could flare up again if social distancing measures are eased too quickly.

Forty-eight of the 50 US states have now eased lockdown rules to some extent.

Much like Trump and his political allies, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is also keen to end lockdowns, which he claims have unnecessarily damaged the South American nation's economy over a disease he has dismissed as "a little flu".

But the virus has continued its deadly march in Brazil, where the death toll passed 15,000 on Saturday and it became the country with the fourth-largest coronavirus caseload with 230,000 infections.

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