Odisha govt issues show cause notice to cricket association over power disruption during 2nd ODI
Bhubaneswar, Feb 10 (PTI): Embarrassed over floodlight failure leading to disruption of the second ODI between India and England at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the state government on Monday issued a show cause notice to Odisha Cricket Association (OCA), seeking a reply within 10 days.
The Sunday match was disrupted for around 30 minutes as floodlights in one of the towers were not functioning.
The opposition BJD held the state government equally responsible for the fiasco and demanded resignation of Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj.
In a letter to OCA secretary Sanjay Behera, Odisha's Sports Director Siddhartha Das said, "The OCA is hereby directed to submit a detailed explanation for the cause of disruption and identify the persons/agencies that were responsible for such lapses and outline the measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future."
The findings must be submitted within 10 days upon receipt of this letter, the sports department said.
Speaking to reporters, Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said stringent action would be taken against the persons responsible for the incident and even suggested the arrest of those found guilty.
"This (match disruption due to floodlight failure) is a serious matter and has hurt the sports lovers across the state and pained us. Therefore, the sports department has issued a show cause notice to the OCA. They have sub-committees to look after different aspects.
"Earlier, we had also reviewed the preparations twice to streamline the system. Still, it is yet to be found out as to which committee was in charge of the floodlight and why the backup generator could not reach the place at the appropriate time," the minister said.
Stating that power disruption is not unusual in such matches, the minister said it is important to know as to why electricity was not restored immediately by activating the backup generator.
The minister, however, thanked the OCA for proper crowd management.
OCA secretary Sanjay Behera had told reporters on Sunday that the backup generators could not reach the floodlight tower immediately because the players' bus was parked near it.
"The driver was not in the bus and he was called up and asked to remove the vehicle after which the generators could reach the tower and the power was restored," Behera had said.
Opposition parties of Odisha slammed the organisers for the incident.
The BJD said in a statement that the Bababati power disruption has caused embarrassment for Odisha in front of the global sports community.
“After a gap of nearly six years, Odisha hosted an international cricket match. The failure in organising this prestigious event falls under the responsibility of the OCA and the state government, who were entrusted with the task,” the party said in a statement.
“We demand the resignation of Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj for bringing a bad name for Odisha,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said.
Condemning the incident, senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said his party will raise the matter in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly.
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Delhi HC asks Jaideep Sengar to surrender in Unnao custodial death case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jaideep Sengar, brother of Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Sengar, to surrender before jail authorities in connection with his conviction in the custodial death case of the survivor's father.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja was hearing a plea by the convict for further extension of interim bail upon suspension of the 10-year sentence.
It observed that the interim bail granted to Jaideep Sengar in July 2024 was last extended in April 2025 and since then, in spite of five dates, no order of any further extension or suspension of his sentence has been passed by the court.
As the senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar urged the bench to extend the period of his release on account of his health, the bench said, "You surrender and then we will see."
"Although there is no extension of interim suspension of sentence granted, we find he has still not surrendered. Before we proceed to consider his application for further extension of suspension of sentence, we require the appellant to first surrender," the bench ordered.
The senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar assured the court that he would surrender by Saturday.
The court listed the matter for hearing next week.
Jaideep Sengar, 50, sought the bail extension on the grounds that he is suffering from oral cancer.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) counsel had earlier said it was not a fit case for extension of interim bail, and the prescription given by Jaideep Sengar in support of his plea was fabricated.
In his application, Jaideep Sengar said he was suffering from stage IV oral cancer, a life-threatening condition, and had developed clinical signs of recurrence.
The condition, the plea said, required continuous and specialised medical care.
The plea also informed that Jaideep Sengar has spent about four years in custody.
The high court had granted interim bail to Jaideep Sengar on July 3, 2024, for two months on medical grounds.
Kuldeep Sengar was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on December 20, 2019, for raping the minor in 2017.
On March 13, 2020, Kuldeep Sengar, along with Jaideep Sengar, was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father.
The survivor's father was arrested, allegedly at the behest of the accused, under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutality.
The trial court said no leniency could be shown for killing a family's sole breadwinner.
