Rahul Dravid shares important update on KL Rahul’s fitness, availability for Asia Cup, WC
Rahul set to miss important games; details here
Bengaluru(PTI): Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, was on Tuesday ruled out of the first two matches of the upcoming Asia Cup due to a "niggle" not only delaying his much-anticipated return to the Indian team but also raising doubts about his availability for the ODI World Cup, starting October 5.
India take on Pakistan in their tournament opener on September 2 followed by Nepal on September 4, the two games that Rahul will be missing as he will join the team during the Super Four phase of the tournament.
The niggle is unrelated to the thigh injury that kept him out of action for months and also required a surgery. He was named in the squad for the tournament, starting Wednesday and is India's first-choice wicketkeeper.
"KL has had a good week with us. He is playing well. He is progressing really well but he will be unavailable for the first part for the Kandy leg of the trip. He will be unavailable for the first two games, " India head coach Rahul Dravid said at the pre-departure presser.
The coach added that Rahul will be staying back at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) and a call on his participation in the tournament will be take on September 4.
"The NCA will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling. We will reassess on the 4th (September) and take it from there. But signs are looking good," Dravid added.
It must be noted that by September 5, BCCI will have to submit the list of 15 players for the World Cup and have a chance to alter names till September 27.
In Rahul's absence, Ishan Kishan is likely to don the wicketkeeper's gloves as the other option -- Sanju Samson is only a travelling reserve and technically not a part of 17-member squad.
However, where Kishan is slotted in the batting order would be interesting to see.
"It's just two less games from our perspective. KL is batting well. Slightly more cautious approach leading into the World Cup. He will have a few match simulations over the course of the next few days in the middle.
"We are hoping it will be only two games that he misses and he will be back for the later stages. We also have an Australia series," Dravid added.
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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.
