HC orders seizure of cricket association’s papers

GUWAHATI:The Gauhati high court on Friday directed Assam Police to seize all documents and financial details of Assam Cricket Association (ACA) within 48 hours. It issued the directive while hearing a PIL filed by former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sub-committee member Sahajananda Ojha that accused ACA of financial irregularities.
In the PIL, Ojha, a former Team India assistant manager, mentioned some of the instances of alleged financial mismanagement by ACA.The cricket association ‘conspired’ to transfer the Barsapara cricket stadium to a private trust that would have the right to sell it, said the petitioner’s advocate Debajit Saikia. Saikia also termed ACA’s financial transactions ‘improper’.
The court will hear the case again on August 28. Till then, the seized documents will be kept with Assam Police.
Former Assam cricketers have been demanding the removal of Bikash Baruah, ACA secretary, for the last 13 years. Under the banner of Association for Cricketers of Assam, they have also sought the removal of ACA president and treasurer.
Former cricketers Dipak Das, Hemanga Baruah and Sajjad Zaheer Hussain said ACA receives Rs 90 crore from the BCCI annually but does little for the development of the game in the state. The cricketers earlier staged protests against Baruah’s ‘misdeeds’ in front of the newly-built stadium at Barsapara.
Earlier, the anti-corruption and vigilance wing of Assam Police had quizzed Bikash Baruah following a complaint about the association’s alleged financial irregularities. An ACA member had filed a case against Baruah in the Fatasil Ambari police station and charged him under four non-bailable sections of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Baruah dismissed the allegations and accused the former cricketers of trying to blackmail him. “I will inform the people of Assam about the reality in due course of time. These are baseless allegations,” he said.