Taking its investigations further in the Rs. 130 crore worth heroin haul case, the Punjab police refused to accept the hair and blood samples provided by the Beijing Olympic boxing bronze medalist, Vijender Singh.
Vijender’s name figured in the case after the recovery of his wife’s car near the residence of the key accused and due to the statements made by his sparring partner, Ram Singh.
Talking to journalists, the DIG of the Ludhiana range of the Punjab police, M.M. Farooqui, said the samples provided to the Haryana police could not be accepted and presented for forensic examination, as they had not been collected in the presence of the special team and independent witnesses sent to question Vijender.
S.N. Vashist, Haryana police chief, through a statement, claimed complete co-operation with the Punjab counterparts.
Sources in the Haryana police said Vijender had previously refused to give his samples as the investigators were not accompanied by a doctor.
He, however, submitted samples of his hair and blood to the Haryana police, where is also employed as a DSP. He had also refused to sign the statement prepared by the interrogators as it was written in Punjabi, a language which he could neither read nor write.
Chief, Fatehgarh Sahib district police, Hardyal Singh Mann, whose team unearthed the nexus by arresting seven persons including NRI Anoop Singh Kahlon, said Vijender’s samples were required to corroborate the statements made by Ram Singh as well as the main accused in the case.
While Vijender had denied any involvement, Ram Singh is reported to have accepted before the interrogators that they had consumed the contraband provided by Kahlon, whom they had also visited.
