Foreign players fly out of India after IPL suspension
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI): Most of the foreign recruits in IPL franchises departed for their respective countries on Saturday following the suspension high-profile T20 League which was halted for a week due to India-Pakistan border tension.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended on Friday, a day after the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match in Dharamsala was abandoned midway following air raid alerts in neighbouring cities of Jammu and Pathankot.
With the tournament suspended, the players and support staff from various franchises have begun returning to their home-towns, while several foreign players are home-bound.
"Our players and extended staff have safely returned to Bengaluru and are now homebound to their respective cities and countries," RCB said in a statement.
RCB's foreign contingent includes Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Philip Salt, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, and Nuwan Thushara.
Among the overseas support staff are head coach Andy Flower, bowling coach Adam Griffith, Director of Cricket Operations Mo Bobat, team physio Evan Speechly, and analyst Freddie Wilde.
"We're deeply grateful for the swift coordination and support from the BCCI, local authorities, and the police who made this possible," the RCB statement added.
An LSG official also confirmed to PTI that some of their overseas players flew out on Saturday, while a few others opted to stay back for the time being.
For other franchises like Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), both domestic and international players have also departed for their respective locations.
According to a source, KKR players left from Hyderabad, where they were scheduled to face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.
After the IPL match in Dharamsala was called off, players from Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals reached New Delhi on Friday after being evacuated and escorted to the Jalandhar railway station in batches through Hoshiarpur amid tight security.
The squads had arrived in New Delhi aboard a special 'Vande Bharat Express'.
A Punjab Kings (PBKS) source said that most of their foreign players have left for home.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that updates regarding the revised schedule and venues for the remainder of the tournament would be shared in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders.
The suspension of the IPL comes in the wake of India's missile strikes targeting terror infrastructure across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The strikes were carried out in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
Our players and extended staff have safely returned to Bengaluru and are now homebound to their respective cities and countries. š
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2025
We’re deeply grateful for the swift coordination and support from the BCCI, local authorities, and the police who made this possible. šš®š³… pic.twitter.com/8IatIo5Wwl
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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.
