Vijender took drugs 12 times, say Punjab police

April 1, 2013

Vijender_drugsChandigarh, Apr 1: The Punjab police on Sunday, for the first time, confirmed that Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh consumed drugs at least 12 times along with his sparring partner Ram Singh, who had it five times.

Vijender has so far been denying this allegation but the police said they have evidence to justify their charge that the boxer took drugs for the personal consumption from main accused in a drug haul case, Anno Singh Kahlon. The police said during investigation it had been “established that boxers Ram Singh and Vijender Singh took heroin from Anoop Singh Kahlon and Rocky for personal consumption between December 2012 and February 2013.”

Heroin was first procured by Ram Singh alone in December 2012. Subsequently both boxers went together to Zirakpur in Punjab for procuring heroin for consumption once in January and twice in February. As per the investigation, Vijender Singh consumed the drug about 12 times and Ram Singh about five times.

The police, however, have made it clear that the two boxers did not actively connive with the smugglers in their activities and nothing was seized from them. The police said both boxers were, therefore, not being arrested in the case at this stage. Ram Singh has been dismissed from the police department since it was established that he frequented the smugglers to procure heroin.

Vijender Singh had refused to give his blood and hair samples to the police. Hair testing facilities are not available in local forensic science laboratories (FSLs), the police said.

“The local FSL unit has been moved to provide information as to which lab in the country can conduct the test appropriately, the validity and certainty of such a test and the duration within which the drug can be detected in a hair sample,” the police said.

The boxer’s name cropped up in the entire drug episode following the disclosure made by Kahlon after drugs worth Rs 130 crore were seized from the alleged kingpin’s house in Zirakpur. Vijender’s car, registered in his wife’s name, had been found outside the house.

The police said they have seized 10 kg of “high priced” narcotics dubbed “ice” (methamphetamine) and 230 kg of raw material (pseudophedrine).

The manufactured “ice” and the raw material were being exported to the UK, Canada and Holland by narcotic smugglers through one Kulwant Singh, a UK national, who was earlier arrested in the case in New Delhi on March 19.

According to Kahlon and Kulwant Singh, the international retail price of “ice” is about Rs 5 crore per kg and of raw material about Rs 1 crore per kg.

The police said the drugs, including heroin and “ice,” were being sent by this group of smugglers to the UK, Canada and Holland.

Consignments were being sent both through air cargo from Delhi and by ship from Mumbai, which was organised by Kulwant Singh and Paramjit Singh (both arrested).

In the UK, the consignments were being received by Latif of Pakistan origin. Latif is settled in the UK. Five Chinese associates had visited Chandigarh for quality check of “ice” and pseudophedrine in 2010, the identities of whom have been established.

Till date, 15 people, including two Canadian and one UK citizen have been arrested.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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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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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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