The Board of Control for Cricket in India has banned journalist Boria Majumdar for two years after he was found guilty of threatening and intimidating cricketer Wriddhiman Saha. In a statement issued today, BCCI said that a committee has found that the actions of Majumder were in the nature of threat and intimidation, and therefore he has been banned from BCCI related matches and other events for two years.
In the statement, BCCI said that it had taken cognizance of messages posted by Wriddhiman Saha saying that he felt bullied and threatened by the conduct of Boria Majumder. The cricketer had posted screenshots of the messages sent to him by the journalist. The board had formed a committee comprising vice president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal and Councillor Prabhej Singh Bhatia to look into the matter.
BCCI issues order to ban journalist Boria Majumdar for two years for intimidating cricketer Wriddhiman Saha.
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2022
"…The BCCI Committee concluded that the actions by Majumdar were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation..," read the order. pic.twitter.com/tcUlHuBTZk
The committee considered submissions made by both Saha and Majumder, and concluded that actions by Majumder were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation. As a result, the committee recommended the ban to the Apex Council of BCCI, and the Apex Council accepted the recommendations.
According to the ban, for two years, Boria Majumder will not get any accreditation as a member of the press in any cricket matches held in India, both domestic and international. He will also not be able to interview any BCCI registered cricketer, and he will not get access to any cricket facilities owned by BCCI and its associates.
It was reported last week itself that Boria Majumdar faces two years ban as BCCI had found him guilty of intimidating Wriddhiman Saha.
This all happened after Wriddhiman Saha took to Twitter in February of this year to post a screenshot of threatening messages received by him from an unnamed journalist requesting an interview and then humiliating him for not responding. In the post, Saha wrote, “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.”
In the screenshot posted by Saha, the journalist was seen asking Saha to do an interview with him. The journalist also says that he will not be pushing Saha for an interview, however, the wicket-keeper must choose the person who can help him the most.
As Saha did not entertain the journalist’s request or call him back, the journalist became angry and said that he would never again take his interview. He had further stated in the message that he would not take this insult kindly. The journalist had even warned Saha that he should not have behaved in this manner.
While Saha had not named the journalist in the tweet, many had speculated it to be Boria Majumder, and during the hearing, the cricketer had named him. He said that he was “bullied” by Boria for an interview.
