Harmeet, Indian cricket’s enfant terrible, arrested
Harmeet Singh is controversy’s favourite child. Monday’s incident, where he steered his car on to platform No. 1 at Andheri station is the latest instance of him making headlines for the wrong reasons. The former India U-19 star, who was a member of the India team that won the Colts World Cup in 2012, was arrested for the incident on Monday morning but later released on bail.
Harmeet’s mother claimed her son was innocent. “He stayed at a friend’s place last night. Then he went to drop him to the station en route to a Borivli hospital, to see his ailing grandmother.”
She added, “He told me that there was some work going on near the station and he had been directed to take that route for a U-turn. It is shocking that the route led to the platform. Luckily, he didn’t hurt or injure anyone. My child hasn’t done this on purpose,” she told HT.
Ever since he won the hearts with his performance in the 2012 U-19 World Cup, Harmeet has struggled to live up to the billing. During his time with the Rajasthan Royals, Harmeet’s name cropped up in the 2013 spot fixing scandal. Harmeet was allegedly approached by his Rajasthan teammate Ajit Chandila, who has been banned for life. Chandila reportedly fixed a meeting where bookies tried to lure Harmeet.
Though the youngster turned down the offer, a show cause notice was issued to him for not reporting the incident. Later, he was given a clean chit. But that did not end his woes. Vidarbha, keen to hire Harmeet for the ensuing Ranji Trophy season, refused to sign a contract with the youngster, leaving him without a team.