Jyoti Randhawa, India golfer, arrested in Uttar Pradesh on poaching charges

Jyoti Randhawa, India golfer and ex-husband of Bollywood actor Chitrangadha Singh, has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich on charges of poaching, according to a tweet by ANI. The tweet also mentioned that a .22 rifle was recovered from the golfer and further details are being awaited. Randhawa is also a professional dog trainer and he was also appointed to train Cane Corso breed of hunter dogs to track and capture problem tigress T1 of Pandharkawda in Nagpur recently. According to a Hindustan Times report, the arrests took place in Motipur Range of Katerniaghat. A vehicle, weapons and other equipment along with wildlife articles were seized from them, the police said. Divisional forest officer of Katerniaghat is investigating the case.

The Indian golfer, who has not been part of the golfing circuit since 2009, was officially divorced from Chitrangada in 2014 after their marriage fell apart in 2013. According to media reports, trouble between the couple began when Chitrangada shifted to Mumbai to pursue a career in films while Randhawa stayed back in Delhi. Chitrangada used to shuttle between the two cities to spend time with her son, five-year-old Zorawar and Jyoti. The couple who got married in 2001 have known each other since childhood.

Golfer Jyoti Randhawa arrested on poaching charges in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. A .22 rifle recovered from him. pic.twitter.com/SemkQI9IvN

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2018

Randhawa turned professional in 1994 and was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 and 2009. In 2002, he finished top on the Asian Tour money list. His best finish on the European Tour was a tied second in the 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic. Randhawa, along with Arjun Atwal, Anirban Lahiri and recently, Shubhankar Sharma, won the Order of Merit as the top-earning pros on the Asian Tour, with Jeev Milkha Singh achieving it twice in 2006 and 2008. Randhawa achieved this feat in 2002.

Randhawa has made the cut in 2006 in the US Open and he made the cut in the Open Championship twice in 2000 and 2003. In the 2004 edition, he was tied 27th in the tournament which remained his best ever. In the PGA championship, he made the cutonly in the 2008 edition. Overall, Randhawa has won eight Asian Tour wins, with his first success coming in the Hero Honda Masters tournament played in Delhi in 1998 when he defeated Jeev Milkha Singh. He won the Indian Open three times in his career, with the first one being in 2000 followed by back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007. 

Apart from his success in India, Randhawa achieved success in the Singapore Open, Thailand Open as well as the Japan Open.