When Yadav was caught cheating in a police exam

LUCKNOW: Wrestler Narsingh Yadav’s Rio dreams are virtually over after it emerged on Sunday that he flunked a dope test. The 74kg freestyle wrestler has protested his innocence, claiming there is a conspiracy behind it.

However, it is not the first time Narsingh has failed a test. In 2014, the wrestler was barred from becoming a deputy superintendent in the Maharashtra Police after he was allegedly caught cheating in a written examination.

Narsingh was recruited by the Maharashtra Police for the post on the basis of his gold medal in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. While undergoing two-year training, he had to clear 13 papers to be posted as DySP in Thane’s rural region.

However, he was caught copying during the local and special law exam following which he was ordered to leave the hall, Niranjan Vayangankar, who was the deputy director of the Police Training Academy, had then told the media. It was the fourth paper and he was not allowed to take the remaining eight.

On Sunday, Narsingh’s house in Neema Mureri village in Varanasi’s Cholapur block was a picture of dejection. Shell-shocked family members refused to eat as they rejected any suggestion that their boy was a cheat.

“I am unable to eat since I heard about my son failing a dope test,” his mother Bhulana told HT on Sunday. “It’s a conspiracy against him and I believe it was hatched by his enemies who couldn’t make the cut for Rio because of Narsingh’s selection.

His elder brother and childhood wrestling partner Vinod Yadav said: “If Narsingh had to take drugs, he could have taken it independently, but his room partner (Sandeep Tulsi Yadav) in the camp too has tested positive. Don’t you think this clearly shows a conspiracy?”

He defended Narsingh over cheating while taking the police exam. “It was a school kid-like act in which one talks to his colleagues or friend in an examination hall. This happened with Narsingh too and he failed. It was a routine written test. He was called to appear in the exam again, but he chose to do only after Rio as he had no time to prepare.”