NEW DELHI: Indian police said yesterday it will question Olympic bronze-medallist boxer Vijender Singh over alleged links to a man who was arrested after heroin worth $24m was seized from his house.
Police said the arrested man had named Vijender and fellow boxer Ram Singh, both unrelated, as his “clients”.
“It is crucial for us to question Vijender Singh because the peddler has named the boxer as his client. Even Vijender’s friend, Ram Singh has told us that they were both using heroin,” senior officer HS Mann said.
Police seized 26 kilograms (57 pounds) of heroin worth 1.3bn rupees ($24m) from the alleged peddler. He was arrested along with five others. Mann, who heads the investigation, said Vijender will be summoned next week. The star boxer has strongly denied links with the alleged peddler, slamming the “ridiculous charges” against him.
He won a bronze medal in the middleweight category at the 2008 Beijing Games. Ram Singh, said that both he and Vijender had “experimented with drugs thinking that they were food supplements”.
“We did not know that we were taking drugs. We were told that we were consuming food supplements meant to increase strength and stamina,” he said. REUTERS
