Internet Desk: In a shocking manner a man drove a car straight on the pitch of Air Force ground in Palam when a Ranji Trophy match was in progress between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. It can be termed a serious security breach, where the players as well as the top officials looked stunned after seeing the incident. India’s star cricketers like Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant too were present in the ground during the incident.
In an image it was seen that Gambhir and Ishant were standing beside the car and it was parked on the middle of the pitch.
“The BCCI will ask for a thorough report from their affiliated unit Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) about the incident. At around 4:40 pm, 20 minutes from close of play, a silver grey Wagon R suddenly drove onto the field of play with Uttar Pradesh batting in their second innings. The man, who identified himself as Girish Sharma, tried to swerve his car twice on the 22-yard strip before stopping,” an eyewitness told PTI.
As per sources the main gate of the Air Force ground, was open and no security personal was present there.
The security personnel at the ground swung into action after the and closed the gate in order to stop the man from fleeing.
The man was arrested by the Delhi police for further questioning. BCCI acting president CK Khanna told PTI: “The BCCI will enquire into the incident. The relevant department will get in touch with the Services Sports Control Board as this is a matter of serious concern.
“This is a breach of security measure at the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) ground. Imagine if the man had any sinister motive, then lives of international cricketers could have been in danger,” Khanna added.
Delhi team manager Shankar Saini, who was present at the ground said: “Thank God, nothing untoward happened. There was a possibility that it could have been more serious.”
However, as per senior Delhi Police official, none of the involved parties lodged a formal complaint against the intruder.
“No formal complaint has been lodged. Preliminary investigations suggest that the Airforce security guard was not present at the gate. We have detained the man identified as Girish for questioning. He is around 30 years old and claimed that he works in a private firm. He seemed mentally disturbed,” a senior Delhi Police official told PTI.
A DDCA official present at the ground said: “The man looked a complete mess. He was driving the car wearing a lungi. In fact, when he was being bashed up for his act, he hardly reacted. He did not look in perfect mental health.” Although the match is being held at the Services’ home ground, the host of this particular match is Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA).
With inputs from PTI.