Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : August 6, 2013 11:40 AM IST
Some alarming new developments have emerged in the Vijender Singh drug scandal with a fellow boxer, Ram Singh revealing they had used heroin for fun before and had been given the drug free of cost before by their arrested friend Anoop Singh Kahlon. In what can only be called downright ridiculous, the boxer claimed that they mistook heroin for a food supplement.
In an interview with HT, Ram Singh told the newspaper that neither he nor Vijender had any inkling that their friend Anoop was a drug dealer. On Thursday, the police seized 26kg of heroin and other drugs from Kahlon's Zirakpur house and Kahlon claimed that both boxers were his clients. Ram Singh told HT, 'After the arrest of Kahlon, we found out that he was a peddler. It struck me that he may have wanted us to become addicts and exploit our stature... Vijender called me after Kahlon's arrest... we thanked God for saving us.'
Ram and Vijender were roommates at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala for six years. Ram Singh claimed that he met Kahlon in 2007 and he would visit his house from time to time once or twice a month.
'In the past two-and-a-half months, both of us procured three-four doses of heroin from Kahlon. Each dose was not more than two grams and we used to inhale not more than half a gram at one go. It was just for fun.' Ram added. He also told HT how the first time he took the drug he almost overdosed on the drug and had a bout of vomiting. He also told the police that he and Vijender had not participated in any competitive event after consumption of the drug. Punjab Police today began the process of scrutinising phone call details of Kahlon to probe if Vijender and his friend, Ram Singh, a national level boxer, had in the past been in touch with him.
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Ram Singh, who had joined the investigations yesterday, was summoned by the Fatehgarh Sahib Police on March 9, but Mann refused to divulge whether Vijender would also be grilled. Asked if Vijender, who hails from Bhiwani district and is a Haryana Police DSP rank officer, would be questioned, the SSP said, "We haven`t taken any final decision on this yet. We haven`t concluded anything yet in this regard. "We are scrutinising the phone call details of Kahlon of past one or two months to see if he was in touch with Vijender and Ram Singh," Mann said.
Vijender, 27, had trashed as "ridiculous" allegations that he has links with the alleged NRI drug deal and claimed they would be proved wrong in investigations. Police said teams have been sent to different locations to nab wrestler Jagdish Bhola, a former Punjab police cop, named by Kahlon as the kingpin of the gang. Bhola, an Arjun awardee, was recruited in 1993 in Bathinda district and later he was made an inspector following his achievements in wrestling. He came into limelight when he was named for the Arjuna Award and also won the title of 'Rustum-e-Hind'.
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Bhola was also given the rank of DSP. However, he was first booked for smuggling contraband in 2001 and was declared a proclaimed offender. In January, 2002 Bathinda police registered a case under various sections of the NDPS Act against Bhola for his alleged involvement in drug smuggling. He was also dismissed from service.
Police had recovered 26 kg of heroin, worth an estimated Rs 130 crore, from Kahlon`s house in Shivalik Vihar in Zirakpur on the city outskirts in Mohali district on Thursday. The SUV, registered in Vijender`s wife Archana`s name, was found by police near the NRI`s house. Ram Singh also told the police that he used to keep the SUV with him sometimes when asked to do so by Vijender.
What the law says
Drug possession and consumption in India is illegal under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). Unlike the US (some states) or other nations where some sorts of drugs like marijuana (ganja) are used for medicinal purposes and are also allowed for recreational purposes, India has no such laws. The crime for possession varies depending upon the quantity of and type of the drug found. Small quantity refers to drug for personal use and commercial for sale to others.
Definition of small and commercial for various drugs
Drug | Small Quantity | Commercial Quantity |
Heroin | Less than or equal to 5g | 250 grams |
Cocaine | Less than or equal to 2g | 100 grams |
Hashish/Charas1 Kg | Less than or equal to 100g | 1 Kg |
Opium | Less than or equal to 250g | 2.5 kg |
Ganja | Less than or equal to 1kg | 20 Kg |
Punishment for possession
Small quantity | Six months rigorous imprisonment and/or Rs 10,000 fine |
More than small quantity but less than commercial quantity | Up to ten years rigorous imprisonment and/or Rs 100,000 fine |
Commercial quantity | Rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years and fine of Rs. 1,00,000 to Rs. 2,00,000 |
Consumption
There seems to be a loophole in the law as far as consumption is concerned. Under the NDPS, an individual can't be charged if it emerges that he/she has consumed drugs in the past. The only way a person can be charged is if the drug is found in the system. An individual however can face up to six months to one year of rigorous imprisonment depending upon the drug. This is a loophole says a legal expert who wishes to remain anonymous. 'The loophole in the system which is similar to prostitution. Our laws are designed to prosecute the providers prostitutes or drug dealers but not the consumer,' he says.
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