BFI dissolves state body, forms ad hoc committee to run the show
LUCKNOW : The Boxing Federation of India on Monday dissolved the state body and constituted an ad hoc committee to run the show in Uttar Pradesh.
The step was taken following a series of complaints of alleged misconduct, including “favoritism” in selection of different teams of Uttar Pradesh over the last few months.
Boxing Federation of India secretary Hemanta Kumar Kalita, in his letter to UP Boxing Association’s outgoing secretary Anil Mishra on Monday, stated that an ad hoc committee for the UP State ABA has been formed.
“Therefore, you (Anil Mishra) are not supposed to host any event without the consultation with DP Bhatt, chairman of the ad hoc committee. Kalita also nominated four other members in the committee. They are: Rajesh Nayak (president, DBA Gorakhpur), Rohit Pandey (president, DBA Jhansi), Santosh Chhetri, secretary (DBA, Moradabad) and Pramod Kumar (former secretary, UPBA).
“You (Anil Mishra) are advised to keep the event in abeyance. In the meantime you are directed to consult DP Bhatt for all activities. The championships/tournaments/ events of UP State ABA, if any, will be conducted by the ad hoc committee headed by DP Bhatt,” Kalita further states in his letter.
Acting on a series of online complaints against UPBA to chief minister Yogi Adityanath in September last, the Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate had ordered an inquiry. One of the complainants had alleged that his son was deliberately fielded against an overage boy in the state selection trials for the nationals, which resulted in his loss.
In December last, BFI had constituted a three-member committee to look into several issues, including the formation of committee on the forthcoming UP Amateur Boxing Association and the members were DP Bhatt, Digvijay Singh and T Meena Paul.
Following a report by the committee, BFI cancelled the elections of the UPBA on December 22 after the state body failed to submit the required documents of their “official existence”.
HT’s repeated calls to Anil Mishra for his comment went unanswered.