Vijender Singh finds favour in top Punjab police echelons?

Even as Olympian Vijender Singh has submitted a blood sample to the Haryana police to be forwarded to the Punjab police for confirmation of his consumption of heroin, senior police officers here are baffled with the special prerogative given to the Olympian for the investigation.

"He is a suspect in heroin peddling, and it is completely out of order that the Punjab police cannot interrogate him directly", said a former Punjab DGP.

He said he is an accused like all other accused. "Why should have the Punjab police gone to Panchkula to interrogate him and now accept his blood sample through the Haryana police after he had declined to do so to the Punjab police officers ?" he wondered.

It may be recalled that Vijender was interrogated by the Punjab police in the Haryana police headquarters in Panchkula. Vijender incidentally is a DSP in the Haryana police. He was given this rank after he had won bronze in the Olympics.

Earlier in the day, the Punjab police had been harping on moving a court to procure his blood or hair sample that he had declined to give on Monday.

Sources said that "very intriguingly topmost Punjab police officers have been directing the Fatehgarh Sahib district police how to go about dealing with Vijender". All other co-accused have been directly dealt and interrogated by the district police.

"It could be a ploy to let Vijender off the hook", said a senior police officer adding that in normal course an accuse or a suspect is questioned where the case has been registered against him.

" Even on Monday, the orders to record the statement of Vijender in the Haryana police headquarters came from the top", said a district police officer. " This is not the way a suspected criminal is dealt with," he added.