Breaking: Indian held for ‘rape’ in Zimbabwe gave post-match cheque after third ODI
Jun 22, 2016 at 11:21 AM
Just 2 days before he was arrested in Harare for an alleged rape case, Indian national Krishna Satyanarayana Gandlur was actually part of the post-match presentation during the third ODI between India and Zimbabwe. He has even photographed handing over the ‘Player of the Match’ cheque to star performer Jasprit Bumrah.
Satyanarayana is working as a consultant for iTeamWorks and was even a key part to the in-stadia rights-holder of the current India-Zimbabwe series. A press released by Zimbabwe Cricket on 11th June described him as the co-founder of ITW Sports. Ravi Krishnan, arrested along with Satyanarayana, is an Indian businessman lives in Zambia.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, they were referred to the High Court for bail. Both of them had earlier made an appeal for consent for bail through defence attorney Dumisani Mthombeni at the Magistrates Court. Reports are saying that Mthombeni will now apply for their bail in the High Court. “It has been deferred to tomorrow,” Mthombeni told earlier.
The Zimbabwe Police’s ‘request for remand’ document stated, “Krishna Satyanarayana Gandlur and Ravi Krishnan were arrested on Friday from the Meikles Hotel on charges of rape.” This statement was also confirmed by Charity Charamba, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
The second-string Indian cricket team’s Zimbabwe tour was on Sunday hit by a shocking controversy after an official involved with one of the sponsors of the series (Krishna Satyanarayana Gandlur) was arrested for alleged rape charges even though the person in concern completely denied involvement in the incident.
The speculation became worldwide news following Zimbabwean media’s report that claimed an unnamed Indian cricketer had been arrested on charges of rape.
The reports suggested, India’s ambassador to the African nation, R Masakul, came into act to prevent the player’s subsequent arrest at a Harare hotel.
However, Masakui outrightly later rejected all the speculation as he clarified that the person arrested has no connection with the Indian squad which is currently playing in a limited-overs series against Zimbabwe.
“This is an unfortunate incident. However, this is to clarify that no cricketer is involved in this. We are seeking Counsellor’s access to person and the Indian Embassy in Harare is following up with this case and will inform the government of India of the developments,” Masakui said.
Official sources in India also ruled out the reports which set the social media abuzz last Sunday.