Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has demanded life ban for the accused involved in the dastardly attack on the DDCA senior selection committee chairman Amit Bhandari.
Hours after the attack on the former India bowler, an angry Gambhir took to Twitter on Monday and wrote, "Disgusted to see this happen right in the heart of the Capital. This can’t slip under the carpet and I will personally ensure it doesn’t. To begin with I am calling for a life ban from all cricket for the player who orchestrated this attack post his non-selection."
Bhandari was assaulted by a group of unidentified men, led by a rejected U-23 player, during the Delhi senior team's practice game at the St Stephen's ground.
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The senior team is gearing up for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (National Twenty20 tournament), starting February 21.
Bhandari sustained head and ear injuries and was taken to Sant Paramanand Hospital at Civil Lines by his colleague Sukhvinder Singh. The goons along with the player in question fled before the cops could reach the spot.
It has been learnt that Bhandari has alleged that an U-23 state team aspirant Anuj Dedha was behind the attack after being rejected for the National (U-23) One-dayers.
"This boy Anuj was pestering Bhandari for some time and he was clearly told that he is not good enough. And today (Monday) , his hired goons stopped senior team's training session and assaulted Bhandari," an eye witness told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
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Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rajat Sharma told that guilty will not be spared.
"I have personally spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. The guilty will not go unpunished. We will register an FIR," Sharma said.
Sharma, who went to meet Bhandari at the hospital said, "He is very shaken and it is natural. The doctors have advised that he should be kept under observation for 24 hours as a precautionary measure."
"The goons were pressurising him to select a player, who had failed to get into the U-23 team on merit. Bhandari claimed that the one man also threatened him with a revolver. This is shameful that an honest selector was being prevented from performing his duties. I have been told that one person has been detained for questioning," Sharma, who is also a well-known journalist, informed.
Quoting an eye witness, PTI reported that Dedha and his accomplices chased Bhandari in front of the senior team players as the former India pacer ran for his life.
Delhi cricket has always been mired in corruption charges and allegations of dubious selections at the various age-group levels have also surfaced time and again.
(With Agency inputs)
