FIR filed against BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary for misappropriation of funds 

What's the story?

A FIR has been lodged against Amitabh Choudhary, acting secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) for alleged misappropriation of funds during his tenure as president of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

Chief Judicial Magistrate G K Tiwari passed the order on the basis of a complaint filed by Ujjal Das, a former Ranji Trophy player from the state, and JSCA life member Naresh Makani.

While Choudhary had dismissed the allegations as rubbish and baseless following the court order on July 14, the FIR was filed at Bistupur police station on July 24 against Choudhary and other former office bearers of the JSCA.

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Along with Choudhary, former treasurer Govinda Mukherjee and Ranjit Kumar Singh -- a member of the state cricket body -- is set to be probed by the Jamshedpur police in connection with the complaint.

Serious charges of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy have been levied against the trio.

The details

Ujjal Das, through his complaint, is seeking answers to the end destination of funds in the tune of Rs 196.23 crore which had been allotted to the JSCA by the BCCI during the period from 2010 to 2015.

Das alleges that the funds which were meant for promoting the game in the state as well as for the construction of an international stadium in Ranchi were not properly utilised and believes that a portion of the sum may have been siphoned off by the trio in question.

Amitabh Choudhary meanwhile looks unfazed by the allegations and retorted by claiming that the accusation was a result of Ranchi replacing Jamshedpur as the premier cricket destination in the state and the resulting jealousy.

What's next?

Amitabh Choudhary has been the man in the centre for the BCCI for quite some time as the world's richest cricket board aims to implement the recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee.

It will be interesting to see how the Committee of Administrators led by Vinod Rai reacts to the FIR being filed by the Jamshedpur police.

Author's take

The BCCI has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately and this episode is something they could have really done without.

Amitabh Choudhary has been the face of the BCCI since the ouster of Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke as president and secretary respectively, but the recent court order means that he could also well follow a similar path out of the BCCI.