BCCI to review Neeraj’s stay as anti-corruption chief
NEW DELHI: The tenure of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Anti-Corruption Unit consultant Neeraj Kumar will be a topic of discussion in a Committee of Administrators meeting on Wednesday.
The former Delhi Police Commissioner was hired by the BCCI in April 2015 in the wake of the 2013 IPL fixing and betting scandal. Neeraj Kumar, an IPS, had retired from active service in July 2013.
According to a well-placed BCCI source, Neeraj Kumar may be retired before May 31 this year because he had brought “disrepute” to the BCCI by levelling charges against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.
It was reported in December that 64-year-old Kumar was upset with BCCI’s lackadaisical approach towards checking corruption in cricket.
Citing that the ACU was inadequately staffed, Kumar criticised Johri for showing little interest in fighting the menace of match-fixing in India.
In an interview to Hindustan Times in November last year, Justice Mukul Mudgal, whose probe into the IPL fixing and betting scandal led to the ouster of Board presidents N Srinivasan and Anurag Thakur, had said the ACU was a powerless body.
“They (ACU) cannot do anything as they don’t have the power to tap phone calls, the right of which lies with the police and they don’t have the power to nab suspects and investigate them. They need to depend entirely on the police. The only way to check fixing is to keep track of phone calls where most of these deals are struck. I’d say even the police will find it difficult. So it is impossible for ACU,” said Justice Mudgal. Neeraj Kumar may find it tough to retain his job till the end of May by when IPL 2018 should end.
“The CoA will discuss his role and given that a section of the BCCI is unhappy at the former police chief’s letter to Johri going public, the signs are not good,” said a Board functionary.
The BCCI (read CoA) has not been uniform in “retiring” its employees. While four persons, including Dr Vece Paes of the anti-doping unit, was retired on December 31 for crossing the age of 60, the long-serving Ratnakar Shetty has been given an extension till March 31 this year.
“Neeraj Kumar’s case had to be dealt differently because he was hired after the age of 60. It’s up for review now,” said the BCCI official.
In the absence of a clear-cut order on how the BCCI should be administered, the Board seems to be in a perennial state of confusion with ad hoc officials in great control of the backroom manoeuvres. The Supreme Court will meet on January 16 to decide on a new constitution for BCCI.