Forced by police to implicate RR owner: Kundra's biz partner

June 12, 2013
kundraNew Delhi, Jun 12: Umesh Goenka, the business partner of Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra, today claimed in a court here that he was forced to name him in cricket betting on instructions from Delhi Police personnel who had "traumatized" and "physically abused" him in illegal custody for five days.

Goenka, whose statement has been recorded as a witness in the case, also said he was forced to name his friend Kundra to save himself from physical torture and from being booked under MCOCA, as threatened by the police.

"Due to threats, torture and extreme fear of consequences on refusing to comply with the dictates of the police, I made the statement before the magistrate. It was not made voluntarily and was given under duress on directions of police," he said.

Goenka made the remarks in an application for retraction of his June 5 statement made before a magistrate in which he had named Kundra in the cricket betting.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Khanna heard brief arguments and directed the Special Cell of Delhi Police to file its response.

"Special Cell to file reply with supporting affidavit of its in charge on or before June 14," he said.

Goenka said he was not disclosing the truth after the court pulled up the police for invoking MCOCA while giving bail to accused persons in the IPL spot-fixing case.

In his detailed application filed though his counsel Tarun Goomber, he narrated the alleged torture at the hands of Delhi Police.

Goenka said that "during the investigating the police had abducted him from his house in Ahmedabad on June 2, illegally detained him and put pressure upon him to make a statement under section 164 CrPC as per their narration/instruction."

He said he was forcibly taken to a hotel by two officials of Special Cell and then flown to Delhi and brought to Special Cell office in Lodhi Colony where he was asked to disclose his and Kundra's involvement in the cricket match betting.

Goenka said that on his saying that neither he nor Kundra was involved in betting, he was put in a lockup and then produced before Special CP. He was not allowed to meet his nephew who had also flown to Delhi.

He also said he was then shifted to a hotel in Karol Bagh area and kept in illegal confinement and brought back to Special Cell office on June 3.

He said he was subjected to interrogation and when he reiterated his stand about his and Kundra's non-involvement in betting, police personnel slapped him, removed his clothes and tortured him physically delivering fists and blows and slapped on his face so hard that his right ear drum got ruptured.

"That under duress, fear and to save himself from further physical torture, I agreed to name Kundra as per the wishes of the police personnel," the application said.

He added he was again kept in an illegal confinement at a hotel on June 4 where he was also given a typed statement to read which mentioned the involvement of Raj Kundra in cricket betting.

When he refused to make the false statement, he was threatened that if he protests MCOCA would be registered against him as had been done with other accused.

Goenka said the next morning on June 5, he was taken to the magistrate's chamber for recording his statement and warned against revealing how he was tortured.

The application further said that after recording of his statement, police took his signatures on many blank papers. On being asked by the police, his relative brought his passport to Delhi and the same was illegally seized.

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News Network
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday pulled out of the India A team's tour of New Zealand after he failed mandatory fitness tests in Mumbai.

The selectors had picked him in the squad without testing him in the Ranji games.

Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar has been drafted into the India A team and he has already boarded the flight to New Zealand where they will play two 50-over warm-up games, three List A games and two four-day 'Tests' against the home A team.

It has been learnt that Pandya failed a couple of mandatory fitness tests and his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket. In this situation, pulling him out of the India A squad was expected.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: It was on April 2, 2011, when the Men in Blue went on to win their second 50-over World Cup title.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 and then had to wait for 28 years to again lift the title.
Going into the 2011 tournament, India went in as the clear favourites as the competition was to be played in the sub-continent.

Under MS Dhoni's leadership, India lost just one match in the competition against South Africa.
India had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka.

In the finals, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for Sri Lanka as he struck a century to take the team's score to 274/6.

India in their chase got off to a bad start as the side lost Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag with just 31 runs on the board.

But Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni stepped up and stitched a match-winning 109-run partnership.

Gambhir perished after playing a knock of 97 runs, but in the end, Dhoni and Yuvraj took the team over the line by six wickets.

The winning six struck by Dhoni is still viewed as one of the most exciting moments in India's sporting history. 

As the winning six was hit, Ravi Shastri was doing commentary then, and he famously remarked, "Dhoni, finishes it off in style, India lifts the World Cup after 28 years".
As soon as the match-winning shot was hit, Tendulkar erupted with joy and had tears to see his dream finally being fulfilled.

Earlier this year, former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the 2011 World Cup win, titled 'Carried On the Shoulders Of A Nation', was voted the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years.

The lap after the World Cup is still edged into everyone's hearts.

Playing in his last mega 50-over tournament, it was the last chance for Tendulkar to lift the coveted trophy.

Before the 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar had played five tournaments (1992,1996,1999,2003 and 2007), and he fell short every time.

The closest he came to winning the trophy was in 2003 as India made the finals under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

But the Men in Blue fell short in the finals against Australia.

Then in 2007, the biggest setback was in store for the legend has India bowed out of the tournament in the group stages.

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