Vijender quizzed, says no to blood, hair tests

March 12, 2013

Vijender_SinghFatehgarh Sahib/Chandigarh, Mar 12: Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh was questioned for five hours by the police at Panchkula Police Lines on Monday in connection with the recovery of 26 kg of heroin worth Rs 130 crore last week. Asked by a team comprising both Punjab and Haryana police for his hair and blood samples, Vijender refused saying he would find it humiliating.

"I am not going to do this because I haven't taken the drug and giving the samples would be insulting to me," Vijender said, according to Punjab police DGP Sumedh Singh Saini.

Incidentally, substance detection period by hair tests confirms that drugs like heroin and morphine tend to lie down on the hair shaft and if the hair sample is long enough, drug testers may be able to determine when the drug use occurred over a 90-day period. The police have already sent Vijender's sparring partner Ram Singh's hair and blood samples to Fatehgarh Sahib civil hospital for testing.

Asked about 50 phone calls made from his mobile phone to Anoop Singh Kahlon, the jailed NRI from Canada and alleged drug peddler, Vijender sounded evasive. "My fans must have used the phone," he replied, according to police sources. On being questioned what he meant, Vijender reportedly said, "It must have been people at NIS who admire my boxing."

Vijender was also asked about the recovery of his Ford Endeavour near the flat of prime accused Anoop Singh Kahlon, an NRI from Canada and alleged drug peddler, and also about the statement of his sparring partner Ram Singh that the two had taken small quantities of the drug as "food supplements". The police declined to make public Vijender's replies to these questions.

Vijender reached Chandigarh at 11.30 am on Monday from Gurgaon, after being summoned by Haryana Police. He reached Police Lines in Panchkula at four pm and was joined by investigators of Punjab Police around 4.45 pm. The questioning began around five pm and Vijender came out of the room for a short while around 7.30 pm to speak to someone on his mobile phone, before going back in. His quizzing continued until 10pm.

It's learnt that the Haryana police decided to call Vijender after Punjab Police also wrote to them, asking them to call their "drug-consumer DSP" to join investigation in connection with the Rs 130-crore drug haul in Mohali. "International boxing star and Haryana Police DSP Vijender Singh has been consuming drugs and the details of his involvement have been shared with you. The investigation with him would be done in Haryana with the three investigation officers of Punjab joining the probe," the letter read.

"Our list of corroborating evidence against Vijender is growing. His friend Ram Singh and drug lord Anoop Singh Kahlon have made long confessions to us. We have text messages and phone call records," said SSP Fatehgarh Sahib district, Hardyal Singh Mann. However, he ruled out Vijender's involvement in peddling.

Punjab Police sources also said at least two corporate lawyers representing Vijender had reached Fatehgarh Sahib on Sunday. "They said that if we need to communicate with Vijender, it has to be through them. We refused to entertain them," said Mann. He added that Ram Singh was showing withdrawal symptoms like insomnia and restlessness after his detention.

"He mentions heroin and then stops short of making a pressing demand for it. Ten times a day, he seeks glucose-like energy drinks, often keeping awake for long hours after midnight," said Mann.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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