Bought drugs with Vijender Singh, boxer allegedly says

Chandigarh:
 The drug dealer Anup Singh who was arrested in Punjab with drugs worth over Rs.130 crores found in his home tried to slash his wrists in jail last evening.

Sources who have interrogated him say that he met at least four times with boxer Vijender Singh, who won India its first boxing Olympic medal in 2008.  

Vijender's close friend and national-level boxer Ram Singh has told the police that the pair bought drugs from Anup Singh, say police sources. Ram Singh allegedly said that neither Vijender nor he were habitual users.


Vijender's wife's car was parked at the alleged drug dealer's home when he was arrested.  

He told NDTV yesterday that a friend had borrowed the car while he was traveling. 

Vijender denied ever using drugs.

"After the initial probe it appears there is no link of the boxer with the person from whose house the heroin was seized. If needed we may call Vijender for questioning. But at present there is nothing in connection with Vijender," Fathegarh Sahib SSP Hardyal Singh Mann has told reporters yesterday.

Virender Sehwag rules out retirement after BCCI selectors exclude him for last 2 Tests against Australia

Indian opener Virender Sehwag was on Thursday dropped from the Indian Test squad for the remaining two matches against the visiting Australians.

Sehwag has been out of form for quite sometime and has not scored enough runs in any of his recent innings. However, another struggling player, spinner Harbhajan Singh, escaped the axe as he was retained for the remaining two Tests.

However, reacting to the news the swashbuckling opener made his intentions clear. The Delhi batsman told Headlines Today that he was not considering retiring from cricket.

Earlier, the BCCI's All-India Senior Selection Committee announced the Indian team for the third and fourth Tests of the Airtel Test series with the rest of the players unchanged.

The team: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma.

The third Test would be played in Mohali from March 14 and the final Test would be held in Delhi from March 22. India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series with emphatic victories in Chennai and Hyderabad.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bcci-selectors-drop-out-of-form-virender-sehwag-indian-squad-tests-australia/1/256819.html

Virender Sehwag's career

Virender Sehwag has done nothing much to write home ever since the hundred in the first Test against England in Ahmedabad in November.

For a man who started off as a middle-order batsman in 2001 in Bloemfontein, it was all about hand-eye co-ordination and keeping it simple that has earned him over 8,000 runs in Test cricket, of which close to 4,000 have come in foreign conditions.

Here is a timeline of his career.

2001: Sehwag made his Test debut in the first Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein as a middle-order batsman. He hit 105 on debut.

2002: Promoted to a makeshift-opener on the tour to England. He scored 84 in the new role at Lord's and then a century in the second Test at Trent Bridge.

2002-03: He scored his maiden century at home. He hit 147 against the West Indies in Mumbai.

2003: He scored 195 against Australia on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

2004: He became the only Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, with 309 against Pakistan in the first Test in Multan.

2005: Became the fastest Indian to score 3000 runs in Test cricket after scoring 173, 81 and 201 in Bangalore against Pakistan. He passed the mark during the B'lore Test.

2006: Sehwag scored his first century in a year when he compiled 254 against Pakistan in the first Test in Lahore in January, the highest ever Test score at a strike rate of over 100 and the second fastest double century ever.

2007: Poor form saw Sehwag being dropped from the Test team.

2008: He scored a match-saving 151 in the second innings of the fourth Test against Australia in Adelaide after returning to the Test team.

2008: Sehwag scored 319 in the first Test against South Africa in Chennai, having reached 300 off just 278 balls, the fastest triple century in Test history.

2009: In the last Test match in Sri Lanka, he made 293. In this innings he established many records: - Scored the second fastest 200.

L&T sees no significant impact of six-month sanction by World Bank

Infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday said the World Bank's six-month sanction against it would not have any significant impact on its business and the group has taken necessary measures to prevent recurrence of any such incident.

The statement comes after the World Bank barred L&T from doing any business with it or any projects that it has funded for 6 months. The bank alleged that an L&T executive had indulged in a fraud by committing forgery.
 
"A junior employee in our medical equipment's business falsified some customer testimonials and submitted them in support of an offer. On discovery of misrepresentation the employee was confronted with the facts and he resigned from the company. L&T has since divested the medical equipment's business," the Indian conglomerate said in a statement to NDTV, adding that "control has been tightened across the L&T group to prevent recurrence of such incidents".
 
The employee has now resigned from the company, a spokesperson told PTI. "L&T has since divested the medical equipment business," he said.
 
The World Bank said in its sanction order that L&T's ineligibility would continue across the entire World Bank group and has been imposed on L&T "for fraudulent practices" as per the bank's procurement guidelines against fraud and corruption.
 
The debarment will continue till September 6, making L&T ineligible for being awarded contracts for any World Bank- funded projects, from receiving any loan proceeds made by the bank or participating in any bank-financed project.
 
During the debarment period, L&T as well as any of the entities controlled directly or indirectly by it can't be nominated even subcontractor, consultant, manufacturer, supplier or even service provider to an otherwise eligible firm being awarded a World Bank-financed project.
 
The matter pertains to a bid submitted by L&T through Regional Business Head of its Medical Equipment and Systems unit to a World Bank-financed project in Tamil Nadu.
 
In January 2005, the World Bank Group had entered into a Development Credit Agreement with the Indian government to provide $110.83 million of International Development Association credit for the Tamil  Nadu Health Systems Project.
 
It was set up to improve the effectiveness of health systems in the state by increasing access to critical health services for poor, disadvantaged and tribal groups. 
 
In July 2008, bidding documents were issued by Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation for a contract to supply 130 ultrasound scanners under the Project, following which L&T submitted a bid on September 3, 2008 through the said Regional Business Head. 
 
Upon technical and financial evaluation, L&T's bid was found to be the lowest-priced, but a complaint was received later that some of the certificates submitted with the bid might have been forged.
 
The bid contained a total 115 performance certificates purportedly issued by medical facilities stating that the ultrasound scanners supplied by L&T were working well. 
 
After the company was asked to explain, the Regional Business Head said that some medical facilities may have mistakenly denied issuing the certificates and requested that L&T "not be viewed as (having) indulged in fraudulent practice". 
 
In December 2008, L&T was informed that the tender has been cancelled and the contract was awarded to another firm through a new bidding process.
 
After looking into the matter, the World Bank's Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) had alleged that L&T "engaged in fraudulent practices by submitting forged performance certificates with its bid".