NEW DELHI: Sports journalist Boria Majumdar is reportedly facing a two-year ban after a three-member committee constituted by the BCCI found him guilty of intimidating India wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha over an interview request.
The three-member committee, comprising Indian cricket board vice-president Rajiv Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal and Apex Council member Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, was set up in February to look into the matter where Saha took to Twitter to post a screenshot of threatening messages from Majumdar over an interview request.
Indian Express reports that the committee, having concluded its “investigation”, will be recommending that Majumdar be barred from any and all events or activities that the BCCI has control over for the next two years.
“We will be informing all state units of the Indian cricket board not to allow him inside stadiums. He won’t be given media accreditation for home matches and we will also be writing to ICC to blacklist him. Players will be asked not to engage with him,” the daily quotes an unnamed “top” BCCI official as having said.
On February 19, Saha had posted on his Twitter handle while sharing the screenshot of the purported exchange, “After all of my contributions to Indian cricket… this is what I face from a so called “Respected” journalist! This is where the journalism has gone.” One of the messages in the chat read as, “You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this.”
“While deposing before the committee, Saha identified Majumdar and alleged that he was “bullied” for an interview.
Majumdar subsequently posted his own video on Twitter and asserted that he would take legal action against Saha.
He accused the cricketer of “doctoring” the screenshots of the WhatsApp messages he had posted on Twitter and later shared with the committee,” the report further said.
“Extremely sad. Such sense of entitlement, neither is he respected nor a journalist, just chamchagiri. With you Wriddhi,” former India opener Virender Sehwag had tweeted.
When Saha had explained a couple of days later over his reasons on not revealing the name of the journalist, Sehwag had said, “Dear Wriddhi, it’s not your nature to harm others and you are a wonderful guy. But to prevent such harm from happening to anyone else in the future, it’s important for you to name him. Gehri saans le, aur naam bol daal (take a deep breath, and reveal the name).”
Former India coach Ravi Shastri had also offered his two cents worth, urging BCCI president Sourav Ganguly “to dive in”.
