Indian Golfer Jyoti Randhawa Arrested on Poaching Charges in UP

A .22 rifle has reportedly been recovered from Randhawa’s car near the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

File picture of Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa, who was arrested on poaching charges in Uttar Pradesh on 26 December.

(Photo Courtesy: Hero Indian Open)

Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday, 26 December, on charges of poaching in the state’s Bahraich district.

According to media reports, the 46-year-old – a regular top-100 player for a five-year spell between 2004 and 2009 – was held by the UP Forest Department, with a .22 rifle seized from him.

Jyoti Randhawa (center, grey jacket) pictured after his arrest on poaching charges in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district.(Photo Courtesy: ANI)

Pictures surfacing on the internet suggest authorities arrested Randhawa at the Motipur range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, located 125 kilometres away from Lucknow.

A vehicle bearing a Haryana registration number and other equipment were also recovered from him. Another person, identified as Mahesh Virajdar, was arrested with Randhawa, field officer Ramesh Pandey told PTI.

Interrogation and further legal action against Randhawa are being initiated by the Katarniaghat DFO, he said.

Randhawa turned professional in 1994, and finished on top of the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2002. His last golf appearance came at the Mauritius Open in Anahita earlier in December, where he pulled out after the first round.

Randhawa was married to Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh, but the couple divorced in April 2014.