N.Srinivasan accused of allegedly offering a bribe to withdraw a case against him

N.Srinivasan accused of allegedly offering a bribe to withdraw a case against him

Aditya Verma, secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), has revealed that a certain south Indian lobby had tried to bribe him on behalf of N.Srinivasan, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to withdraw the filing of public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court over allegations of betting and fixing in the Indian Premier League.

Verma, speaking to Mail Today, said: “A particular south Indian lobby tried to bribe me to withdraw the case.

“It offered me many things, including money, but I did not buckle under any pressure and continued my fight for cleansing Indian cricket of corruption. They told me that I would benefit a lot if I withdrew the case. They also tried to bribe me in many other ways.”

It appears that Verma was also threatened over his son’s future who plays under-19 cricket.

He added: “They asked me, ‘why are you playing with the future of the career of your cricketer son?’

However, Verma looked determined enough to not give in to this alleged high handedness by BCCI.

He said: “I have been fighting singlehandedly against the BCCI for the legitimate rights of the Bihar cricket for the past three years. I am not one to give in to any kind of pressure.

“The BCCI has become very arrogant. I had moved court basically to get the taint removed from the sport.”

Prem Ranjan Patel, president of the CAB, had this to say on N.Srinivasan and BCCI: “Our association decided to challenge the decision of the BCCI, led by its president N. Srinivasan, to set up a probe committee to look into the betting allegations even though his own son-in-law was among the accused.

He added: “We felt that this probe panel would not be able to unearth the truth since it was against the principles of natural justice.”