What’s the story?
An inmate in Udupi prison was roughed up by six others as he insisted on watching an IPL match beyond the bedtime of the other inmates. Tony James, who hails from Kerala, was obsessed with a match and followed it up until midnight which disrupted the sleep of the other prisoners.
According to a report in The Hindu, N. S. Shivakumar, the superintendent of the district jail at Anjar village near Hiriyadka of Udupi district, revealed that it was James’ insistence to watch the match until the very end that landed him in trouble.
In case you didn’t know…
The evening IPL matches, which start at 8 pm, usually go on past 11.30 pm. While some of the low-scoring affairs end earlier, other matches, especially those interrupted by rain, could go on well past midnight.
Recently, the Eliminator between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Kolkata Knight Riders went on until 1.30 am. After the first innings had ended, rain played spoilsport. Play did not resume until about 1 am, as it took almost 20-30 minutes for the groundsmen to dry up the outfield even after the rain had diminished.
The match in question, however, was the final of the IPL played between the Rising Pune Supergiant and the Mumbai Indians. The tension was high in the final as it turned out to be a nail-biting contest. Mumbai would eventually go on to win the low-scoring affair by one run.
The heart of the matter
As James, who had been shifted to the jail in Anjar from Mangaluru three days ago, was watching the match, a few prisoners approached him and tried to snatch the television remote from him. However, he resisted and was consequently roughed up.
In the process, he suffered minor injuries. The jail staff were quick to take action as they shifted James to another cell for the night. The following morning, he claimed that he was in pain and was sent to the District Government Hospital in Udupi for treatment.
Madhusudhan Nayak, the district surgeon told The Hindu that James was missing two front teeth and had suffered injuries to his lips. James, who was handed a jail sentence after being convicted of attempted murder in 2012, even complained that his back was hurt, however, no fractures were found.
What’s next?
The IPL will be back next year with a fresh look. However, the timings of the matches, which have remained constant for the last 10 years, are not likely to be changed.
Author’s Take
This incident could have easily been avoided had James just muted his television set. The other inmates would have been able to get their sound sleep and James could have enjoyed the final like every other cricket lover in the country.
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