With the arrest of former world billiards champion Michael Ferreira on Sunday for his alleged involvement in the E-commerce scam, one more name was added to the Delhi Police’s list of former players involved in crime.
This year, the Delhi Police arrested five international and national level sportspersons for their alleged involvement in crime. Of those arrested in the last six years from different states, a majority of them were weightlifters, wrestlers and boxers.
Ferreira, 78, was arrested along with three others by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police in Mumbai for his alleged involvement in the binary scheme, QNET, scam in which people were duped of crores of rupees.
Last month, national kabaddi player and Pro-Kabaddi League star Rohit Kumar Chillar was arrested by the Delhi Police in Mumbai for allegedly abetting suicide, a criminal act under Section 306 of IPC. Rohit’s wife Lalita had accused him and her in-laws of demanding dowry in her suicide note.
Boxer Deepak Pahal, 20, had dreamt of becoming an Olympian, but was arrested by the Delhi Police in August for allegedly helping notorious gangster Jitender escape while going for a hearing in a murder case in Narwana (Haryana). The Sonepat resident had represented India in international events and won the lightweight title at the nationals in 2011. “He was a serious boxer who wanted to be an Olympian. He came to me at a young age,” Anil Malik, a SAI coach, told HT. “He was talented, I am shocked.”
{{/usCountry}}Boxer Deepak Pahal, 20, had dreamt of becoming an Olympian, but was arrested by the Delhi Police in August for allegedly helping notorious gangster Jitender escape while going for a hearing in a murder case in Narwana (Haryana). The Sonepat resident had represented India in international events and won the lightweight title at the nationals in 2011. “He was a serious boxer who wanted to be an Olympian. He came to me at a young age,” Anil Malik, a SAI coach, told HT. “He was talented, I am shocked.”
{{/usCountry}}Deepak’s aide, Parveen Pandhi, a former national level athlete, was also arrested for the same crime. He had won gold in 400m at the 2013 nationals.
In May, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police arrested former national level rifle shooter Mukarram Ali Khan, 35, for allegedly selling arms and ammunition to criminals in NCR and UP.
Notorious criminal Anil, a former national level weightlifter, became Anil Pehalwan@Leela@Ganja in Delhi Police files and carried a reward Rs 1.5 lakh before his arrest in 2014 on charges of murder, extortion and robbery.
The Delhi Police also nabbed two national level boxers Sumit Dhayiya and cousin Aman for alleged robbery and carjacking in 2013. In 2012, the Punjab Police arrested former international wrestler and Arjun awardee Jagdish Bhola and boxer Ram Singh for their alleged involvement in a `700 crore drug cartel. Bhola was a DSP in Punjab at the time of his arrest.