Floodlight failure halts India-England 2nd ODI in Cuttack
Cuttack, Feb 9 (PTI): In a major embarrassment for the BCCI, a floodlight failure interrupted play in the second ODI between England and India when the hosts were 48 for none in a chase of 305 at the Barabati Stadium, here on Sunday.
India were cruising when one of the eight floodlights near the clock tower failed, forcing players out of field.
The issue first surfaced around 6:15pm when some floodlights briefly went off but the power supply was restored as England pacer Saqib Mahmood was about to bowl to Rohit Sharma.
However, moments later, the lights went out completely, leaving the players frustrated.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, looking in sublime touch, was batting on 29 off 18 balls, having struck three sixes and a four, while Shubman Gill was on 17 off 19 balls with three boundaries.
Players waited for five minutes before leaving the field, while the packed 45,000-strong crowd turned the moment into a spectacle, grooving to blaring music.
The public address system even encouraged fans to turn on their phone flashlights, creating an electrifying atmosphere -- minus the cricket.
Hosting its first ODI in over four years, the OCA had enforced tight security but struggled to manage the overflowing crowd. Chaos was witnessed at the gates with the police resorting to lathi charges to control unruly fans.
The disorder extended to the press box, where several unauthorised individuals entered, adding to the confusion.
More than 25000 fans had gathered during India's practice session on the eve of the match as the OCA allowed free access.
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Delhi court sentences Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia, associate to life imprisonment
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced Haryana gangster Vikas Gulia and his associate to life imprisonment under MCOCA provisions, but refused the death penalty saying the offences did not fall under the category of 'rarest of the rare cases'.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana Jain sentenced Gulia and Dhirpal alias Kana to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
In an order dated December 13, the judge said, "Death sentence can only be awarded in 'rarest of the rare cases' wherein the murder is committed in an extremely inhumane, barbarous, grotesque or dastardly manner as to arouse umbrage of the community at large."
The judge said that on weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, it could be concluded that the present case did not fall under the category, and so, the death penalty could not be imposed upon the convicts.
"Thus, both the convicts are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh each, for committing the offence under Section 3 of MCOCA," she said.
The public prosecutor, seeking the death penalty for both the accused, submitted that they were involved in several unlawful activities while they were on bail in other cases.
He argued that the accused had shown no respect for the law and acted without any fear of legal consequences, and therefore did not deserve any leniency from the court.
The court noted that both convicts were involved in offences of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, robbery, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Besides, they had misused the liberty of interim bail granted to them by absconding.
It said, "The terror of the convicts was such that it created fear psychosis in the mind of the general public, and they lost complete faith in the law enforcement agencies and chose to accede to the illegal demands of convicts. Despite suffering losses, they could not gather the courage to depose against them."
The court noted that Gulia was involved in at least 18 criminal cases, while Dhirpal had links to 10 serious offences.
It underlined that MCOCA had been enacted "keeping in view the fact that organised crime had come up as a serious threat to society, as it knew no territorial boundaries and is fuelled by illegal wealth generated by committing the offence of extortion, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, collection of protection money, murder, etc."
Both accused persons had been convicted on December 10 in a case registered at Najafgarh police station. The police filed a chargesheet under Section 3 (punishment for organised crime) and 4 (punishment for possessing unaccountable wealth on behalf of member of organised crime syndicate) of MCOCA.
