LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi handed one-match suspension for "notebook celebration"
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Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi has been handed a one-match suspension after another instance of his "tick the notebook" celebration following his dismissal of Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma during an IPL match here.
Abhishek was also reprimanded for the same incident and received a 25 percent fine along with one demerit point for what was his first offence.
For Digvesh, this was his third Code of Conduct breach and he has been suspended from LSG's next encounter against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad having accumulated five demerit points after three separate offenses of same nature.
"Digvesh Singh, Bowler, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)," the IPL release stated.
"This was his third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 this season and hence, he has accumulated Two Demerit Points, in addition to Three Demerit Points he had accumulated earlier - One Demerit Point against Punjab Kings on April 01, 2025 and Two Demerit Points against Mumbai Indians on April 04, 2025.
"As he now has Five Demerit Points this season - which result in a one-game suspension - Digvesh will now be suspended for LSG’s next game - against Gujarat Titans on May 22, 2025 in Ahmedabad."
For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding," it further stated.
The 25-year-old has been LSG's only silver lining in an otherwise disastrous campaign with 14 wickets from 12 games at an economy rate of 8.18 per over.
However, he appears to have learned little from previous incidents. His now customary "tick in notebook" celebration has gone viral on social media but match referees haven't taken too kindly to it.
Most of the time, his celebrations come after being blasted by the opposition batters. In this instance, it came after India opener Abhishek had smashed 59 off 20 balls, including half a dozen sixes.
LSG were completely outclassed by SRH and the defeat ended their chances of IPL qualification.
In a social media video posted by LSG earlier in the season, teammate Nicholas Pooran was seen jokingly asking Digvesh about his obsession with the notebook celebration.
His response?
"Because I am from Delhi."
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
