DRUG TAINT: FIRST SIKH GUARDSMAN IN UK MAY BE AXED
JOINED ARMY IN 2016 Family keeps mum; other guards also under the scanner
LONDON: Charanpreet Singh Lall, who hit the headlines in June for becoming the first Sikh soldier to figure in Queen Elizabeth’s birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace, is facing possible discharge from the British army following a probe into drugs abuse. Punjab-born Lall, 22, hails from Leicester in the east Midlands, where his family on Tuesday refused to comment on reports that he allegedly registered “high levels” of cocaine during the army’s compulsory drug test in Windsor.
LONDON: Charanpreet Singh Lall, who hit the headlines in June for becoming the first Sikh soldier to figure in Queen Elizabeth’s birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace, is facing possible discharge from the British army following a probe into drugs abuse.
Punjab-born Lall, 22, hails from Leicester in the east Midlands, where his family on Tuesday refused to comment on reports that he allegedly registered “high levels” of cocaine during the army’s compulsory drug test in Windsor.
Lall, who moved to the UK as a baby and joined the army in 2016, was part of the Trooping the Colour ceremony as a member of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards.
The widely watched ceremony has been staged in June to commemorate the sovereign’s birthday for more than 250 years.
Christopher Coles, head of army personnel services group, said: “I can confirm a number of soldiers from the Coldstream Guards are under investigation for alleged drugs misuse. Those caught taking drugs can expect to be discharged.” Lall’s appearance at the ceremony was hailed as another example of the success of Britain’s policies of multiculturalism.
He saw his position in the parade as potential encouragement for more Sikhs to join the British army.
He said as the Trooping the Colour ceremony was telecast live in June: “I hope that people watching, that they will just acknowledge it and that they will look at it as a new change in history.
“I’m quite proud and I know that a lot of other people are proud of me as well. It is a good feeling... For myself, being the first turban-wearing Sikh to troop the colour and to be part of the escort, it is a really high honour for myself, and hopefully for everyone else as well.”