On Thursday (19th October), Hyderabad Police said that criminal cases had been filed against former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and some other former officer bearers of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) over alleged misappropriation of funds up to Rs 3.85 crore.
Other than former HCA president Mohammed Azharuddin, those named in the FIR are former secretary R Vijay Anand and former treasurer Surender Agarwal. The case against the accused persons was registered on a complaint lodged by Association Chief Executive Officer Suneel Kante Bose on Wednesday.
The accused persons have been booked with criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy in violation of IPC sections 406, 409, 420, 465, 467, 469, and 120-B.
They have been accused of misappropriating money while procuring gym equipment, cricket balls, fire extinguishers, and bucket seats for the HCA’s premises as well as the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
The alleged misappropriation of HCA funds and diversion of funds to private agencies under the guise of supplying material to the HCA, which occurred between March 2020 and February 2023, was discovered during a forensic audit conducted by a private firm at the request of the HCA. The forensic audit discovered financial loss, fund diversion, and misappropriation of HCA assets funds. The findings of the audit prompted Suneel Kante Bose to file a complaint against Mohammad Azharuddin and others.
Reportedly, a tender for the procurement of fire safety equipment was given to M/s Firewin Safety Engineers, which quoted Rs 1,88,97,759 (exclusive of taxes) for HCA, however, a quotation acquired by the forensic auditors from a third-party expert was Rs 54,31,014. The audit discovered that the quotation was prepared at 248% higher than the existing prices, showing a significant outflow of funds beyond what should be reasonable for this item.
In addition, the officer bearers chose Sara Sports, whose credentials are questionable, to obtain red and white test balls. It is also claimed that the tender procedure was handled by Mohammad Azharuddin and the then-treasurer Surender Agarwal rather than the tender committee.
Despite the fact that the orders were not delivered, the vendor was paid in full, suggesting that the funds were misappropriated and diverted for their own use which led to a loss of over Rs 57 lakh.
Another case is related to the purchase of bucket chairs from M/s. Excellent Enterprises. Although the agreement stated that 1100 chairs would be delivered and installed within 15 days of the order date, this was manually modified to 45 days. Reportedly, the price of each was inflated to Rs 2,568. Furthermore, only 700 seats were supplied before the deadline, with the remaining 400 chairs getting delivered after around two years. This caused HCA to suffer a loss of Rs 43,11,720.
Additionally, for gym equipment procurement, an order was placed with Body Drench India Private, resulting in a price increase of Rs 1,50,37,112 (excluding taxes and outstanding dumbbell set price), suggesting over-invoicing and loss to the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
Furthermore, police have registered three additional cases in relation to the players submitting forged age certificates to play in underage teams. An investigation has been initiated into that as well.
Meanwhile, Azharuddin in an X post dismissed the accusations levied against him as “false” and “motivated,” and stated that he would respond to them at the appropriate time.
I have seen news reports that have reported that FIR's have been registered against me on complaints by CEO, HCA.
— Dr. (Hon) Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) October 19, 2023
I want to state that these are all false & motivated allegations & I am in no way connected with the allegations.
I will reply to the motivated allegations against…
“I have seen media reports that have reported that FIR’s have been registered against me on complaints by CEO, HCA. I want to state that these are all false & motivated allegations & I am in no way connected with the allegations. I will reply to the motivated allegations against me at an appropriate time. This is just a stunt pulled by my rivals to ruin my reputation. We shall stay strong and fight harder,” Azharuddin posted on X.
