Narsingh Yadav dope scandal: Police team visits SAI centre

Sonipat: A police team on Thursday visited the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre here to hold investigations in the wake of dope scandal allegedly involving embattled Narsingh Yadav ahead of his proposed Olympic run.

"A police team had questioned the witnesses, coaches, wardens in view of FIR registered on the complaint of Narsingh Yadav," Crime Investigation Department (CIA) officer Indervir, who had been appointed to probe the matter, said.

"We are taking statements from witnesses, wardens, coaches and also taken in possession few utensils," he said.

He, however, said that Jitesh, the fellow grappler of Narsingh, who had been named by the wrestler in his complaint, will be interrogated later.

The wrestler has alleged that he has been framed in the doping scandal by rivals, who spiked his food and supplements to stop him from going to Rio. However, his supplements have reportedly been found to be clean.

WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was at the SAI centre, said that Narsingh has kept his views before the NADA which is expected to announce a decision on Thursday.

After seeing the condition at the SAI centre, he was of the opinion that anything can happen here. However, SAI Centre does not come under the purview of the WFI which can not do anything in the matter.

Narsingh filed an FIR at the Sonipat police station naming a fellow wrestler, one of them a 17-year-old, and persisted with his demand for a CBI probe into the scandal that has sent shock waves into the Indian sporting fraternity.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) backed Narsingh but announced that Parveen Rana would replace him in the squad for Rio de Janeiro, a move that was approved by the sport's world governing body -- United World Wrestling.

"I have always maintained that there has been a conspiracy against me. If I am cleared of the charges, I will go to Rio. I have identified the boy who was seen contaminating my food. I have given a detailed complaint to the police," Narsingh had said after filing his complaint on Wednesday.

"I feel even officials are involved because I am not being provided the CCTV footage," he had added.

Narsingh himself desisted from taking names but WFI President Sharan Singh revealed the alleged saboteurs while talking to the media on Wednesday.