Former secretary of Haryana Football Association booked for fraud

The police on Monday booked a former secretary of the Haryana Football Association for allegedly not paying outstanding bills for using electricity and the premises

The police on Monday booked a former secretary of the Haryana Football Association for allegedly not paying outstanding bills for using electricity and the premises of Nehru Stadium, Civil Lines while running a football academy. The association also alleged that the former secretary did not have permission to run the academy. However, the police denied that particular claim and said that he did have the requisite permission.

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According to the police, former secretary Sunil Bharadwaj was allegedly running a football academy between January 1, 2013, and June 21, 2015, at Kapil pavilion of the Nehru stadium.

In the police complaint, Parasram, the secretary of district sports council in 2016, stated, “Sunil Bharadwaj, who is the former secretary of the Haryana Football Association, was running a football academy between January 1, 2013, and June 21, 2015, at Nehru Stadium. On June 19, 2015, the then Haryana sports minister himself inspected the stadium and found that the academy was functioning there. He immediately directed the authorities to ask the academy to vacate the premises. The minister also asked them to collect a payment from the academy for using the stadium’s electricity and premises.” He added that after an audit by the authorities, Bharadwaj was asked to pay around ₹10.32 lakh as the bill of using the stadium.

In 2016, the authorities allegedly sent multiple notices to Bharadwaj, demanding the payment of his outstanding bills. However, he did not pay the amount. In September 2019, on the direction of the sports minister of Haryana, the authorities were asked to submit a written complaint against Bharadwaj to the police officials of the Civil Lines police station.

Bharadwaj did not respond for comment despite text messages and phone calls. The person who answered his phone said he was not in the city due to some personal work.

Rohtash, sub-inspector (SI), Civil Lines police station, said, “Bharadwaj had the permission to run the academy. In 2015, he was asked to vacate the premises by the authorities and asked to pay ₹10.32 lakh for using the electricity and space of the stadium. The complainant alleged that he still has not made the payment. We are investigating the matter. Bharadwaj is yet to be arrested.”

A police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that the case was registered on Monday after the intervention of senior officials.

Suraj Pal ‘Amu’, president, Haryana Football Association, said, “If he had the permission to run the academy then he must show it to us. Until now, we have not seen any permission letter. He used the air conditioners, electricity and premises of the stadium for his academy and was asked to pay ₹10.32 lakh. However, he did not pay the amount.” He alleged that Bharadwaj misappropriated funds and was involved in corruption.

A case was registered against Bharadwaj under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Civil Lines police station on Monday.