India welcome to collect Asia Cup from me at ACC office: Mohsin Naqvi
Dubai, Oct 1 (PTI): Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday said the Indian team is "welcome" to collect the Asia Cup trophy from him at the continental body's office head office here as controversy around the champions being denied the top prize continued to rage.
In a post on X, Naqvi rejected reports claiming that he, at the ACC AGM on Tuesday, apologised to BCCI officials for his actions at the presentation ceremony on Sunday when he walked away with the trophy after the Indians refused to accept it from him.
Naqvi is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and interior minister of his country with a pronounced anti-India political position.
"As ACC President, I was ready to hand over the trophy that very day and I am still ready now. If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me," he wrote.
"Let me make it absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong and I have never apologised to the BCCI nor will I ever do so," he added.
Ashish Shelar and Rajeev Shukla had represented the BCCI in the ACC AGM where they raised a strong objection over the trophy not being duly handed over to the Suryakumar Yadav-led side which beat Pakistan in the final.
Naqvi had told the BCCI officials on Tuesday that he was ready to give the trophy to the Indian team. However, no decision on that issue was taken in the AGM, upsetting the BCCI top brass further.
The BCCI will take the matter to the ICC which will have its meeting in November.
The two teams played each other thrice in the tournament with India winning each time, including the final. India maintained a 'no handshake policy' with Pakistan players during the event, infuriating the PCB.
The hostilities between the two neighbours are at an all-time high after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 Indian tourists were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
India had subsequently launched military action under 'Operation Sindoor' to dismantle terror infrastructure across the border.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two girls injured in separate wolf attacks in UP's Bahraich
Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Two minor girls were injured in separate incidents of wolf attacks in the Bahraich district, forest department officials said on Saturday.
In the first incident on Friday, Anushka Nishad (5), daughter of Baliram from Mallahanpurwa village, was sleeping alone inside her house when a wolf entered and tried to carry her away, they said.
Hearing her screams, family members and villagers rushed to the spot. The wolf left the child, hearing the commotion, and ran towards the fields. The girl sustained minor injuries from the animal's teeth, the officials said.
Divisional Forest Officer Ram Singh Yadav described the attack as deliberate and cleverly planned, as it occurred precisely when Anushka's mother went out for a few moments.
On the same day, Nancy (4), daughter of Kamlesh Yadav, was playing outside her house in Baburi Tola village when a wolf suddenly attacked and dragged her away.
Villagers raised an alarm, and the wolf released the child and ran towards the sugarcane fields. The injured child was sent to the Kaiserganj Community Health Centre for treatment.
Divisional Forest Officer Ram Singh Yadav told reporters that both attacks involved wolves, adding that the entire area is plagued by the animal's activity.
Since September 9, such attacks in the Bahraich district have claimed 10 lives, including eight children and an elderly couple, and injured dozens of people, the officials said.
District Magistrate Akshay Tripathi met the families of the victims on Friday and consoled them.
