Mohali drug haul: Questioning Vijender Singh not a priority at the moment, say police

Chandigarh: The hunt for the alleged kingpin of the multicrore Mohali drug racket is on, police said on Monday. Actor and Arjuna awardee Jagdish Singh Bhola is currently on the run and the police say that questioning Olympian Vijender Singh is not their priority right now.

This comes a day after the National Institute of Sports expelled boxer Ram Singh after he admitted to taking drugs along with bronze medallist Vijender Singh. While the boxing federation backed Vijender, it suspended Ram Singh from the national camp.

"Vijender took drugs two or three times thinking that they were food supplements. When we found out they were drugs, we were shocked and stopped taking them," said Ram, a constable in the Punjab Police.

The boxing federation on Sunday suspended Ram Singh after his admission that he took drugs thinking they were food supplements.

Ram and Vijender are close friends and they are roommates at the boxing camp in Patiala. But even as his admission saw him being expelled from the camp, the boxing federation backed Olympic bronze medalist Vijender to the hilt. Indian Amateur Boxing Federation President Abhishek Matoria said it was Ram's word against Vijender and he would rather side with the Olympian. "We have full faith in Vijender," Matoria added.

Vijender, while remaining incommunicado, has continued to deny the allegations. His past record too bears up to scrutiny.

"Vijender never took any medicine without checking it first. He realises that he will undergo the dope test and he knows the risks. He has been training with us for the past 10 years and he has undergone tests regularly. When he was tested before Olympics, his tests came negative," India's national boxing coach GS Sandhu said.

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