India women team cricketer approached to fix matches
New Delhi, Sep 16: In an unprecedented development, a member of the India women cricket team was allegedly approached to fix matches earlier this year, prompting the BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit to lodge an FIR against two individuals on Monday.
The alleged incident, which the player reported to the Board's ACU, took place in February, ahead of the limited-overs home series against England.
Ajit Singh Shekhawat, who heads the ACU, confirmed the development to PTI.
"She is an Indian international cricketer so the ICC conducted an inquiry into it. The ICC warned the person who made the approach and informed us and acknowledged that the cricketer has done the right thing by reporting the approach," Shekhawat said.
The ACU has registered a first-information report (FIR) with the Bengaluru police against two individuals, Rakesh Bafna and Jitendra Kothari, for the alleged approach.
"We followed that inquiry and it was much more than that. If we let that person off with a warning it doesn't make any difference at all.
"... So we went into his other links and connected the dots and we gave it to the police because we have no jurisdiction over them. We have jurisdiction only over participants. So they are going to investigate it," Shekhawat added.
The case has been registered under four sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including Section 420, which pertains to cheating.
The player is said to have also recorded the conversation she had with one of the accused over the telephone.
It is learnt that the player was approached while she was undergoing recovery sessions at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, with Kothari, who introduced her to Bafna, claiming to be a sports manager.
The incident showed that women cricketers are also vulnerable to corrupt approaches like their male counterparts.
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Put petty politics aside; it's not about one party, but India: Rahul on TMC's loss in polls
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy.
Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside.
"Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post.
The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
