FIR lodged against Delhi U19 cricketer, parents for age fraud
The FIR is based on a complaint that claims the Delhi cricket association did not do due diligence in verifying documents submitted by the player.
An FIR has been lodged against an under-19 Delhi cricketer and his parents for producing "forged and fabricated" birth record to secure a place in the state team. The age-fraud complaint was filed by Anand Singh at IP Estate police station on March 30 claiming that the U19 player and his parents "forged and fabricated his birth records while concealing his actual date of birth." It alleged that on the basis of such a document the cricketer appeared for trials of the U19 Delhi team in 2021-22 and got selected for Delhi.
The complainant also alleged that the secretary of the Delhi District Cricket Association who was supposed to “conduct due diligence including checking of Aadhar card history of the candidate deliberately ignored the record as Aadhar history of the player would have revealed change in date of birth."
The FIR said that as per BCCI norms any player who is born after 01.09.2002 was eligible to play under-19 cricket in its tournaments. The actual date of birth of the player is 19.03.2002, alleged the complainant while attaching facebook posts in which his father has wished birthday to his son for three years on this date. However, his date of birth was presented as 30.10.2002 in documents submitted for selection, the complainant has submitted.
"The case of accused persons involves a breach of BCCI norms and guidelines regarding age eligibility for cricket tournaments," according to the FIR. It said by presenting "falsified and forged documents", the cricketer not only secured a place in Delhi state cricket teams but also potentially deprived eligible players of opportunities.
"The negligence of responsible authorities, including DDCA secretary, in the matter perpetuated the unfair advantage gained through deceit," the FIR said.
To counter the menace of age and fraud, BCCI has adopted a voluntary disclosure scheme for registered players in the 2020-21 season. "Under this scheme, players who voluntarily declare that they have manipulated their date of birth by submitting fake/tampered documents in the past will not be suspended and allowed to participate in the appropriate age group level if they disclose their actual date of birth (DOB).
"However, if registered players do not disclose the facts and are found to have submitted fake/tampered DOB proof documents by BCCI, then they will be banned for two years, and after completion of 2-year suspension, they will not be allowed to participate in age-group tournaments of BCCI as well as age group tournaments organised by the state units," as per BCCI.