Chandigarh, April 4
The Punjab Police has widened its probe against international boxers accused of consuming heroin following a drug seizure in Zirakpur last month and will now examine their initiation into drugs.

It will also probe the role of Olympic medallist Vijender Singh’s sparring partner Ram Singh, accused of accompanying one of the drug smugglers regularly to Mumbai.

This is significant considering the state police has all along been claiming that Vijender and Ram Singh were only consumers and not involved in any illegal activity.

The change in its stance has come about following the interrogation of Ram Singh, who was arrested yesterday. Sources say Ram Singh has admitted to having accompanied his brother-in-law Ravi Deol, from whose Sangrur residence a large quantity of “ice” (methamphetamine) was recovered recently, to Mumbai regularly.

They claim Ram Singh’s “deeper association” with the drug network in the state had also surfaced and he was no longer being considered a consumer alone. Ravi Deol’s “nexus” with other boxers was also being probed. The police claims Ram Singh was using Vijender’s car to keep track of police movement after drug kingpin Anup Kahlon’s arrest.

Punjab Police DGP Sumedh Singh Saini has now directed the Fatehgarh Sahib police to probe the manner in which the boxers allegedly got initiated into drugs.

During interrogation, Ram Singh has revealed how the boxers had started consuming opium first and then switched to heroin.

Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar, who has accused the Punjab Police of framing Vijender in the case and fears arrest, is being accused of procuring opium for the boxers.

The Punjab Police has also received a report from the Director of its Forensic Science Laboratory asking it to take Vijender’s hair and nail samples to ascertain whether or not he had consumed heroin as was being claimed by the accused in the case.

The report claims that testing Vijender’s blood samples for heroin content was “irrelevant” as heroin can only be detected in the blood within three days of consumption following which it gets transformed into an opiate.

The report says since Vijender reportedly last took heroin in February end, only hair and nail samples could reveal the presence of the drug.

It says since these are highly specialised tests, these should be carried out by a reputed laboratory.