Kirti Azad complains of extortion call by teen cricketer

PATNA - A budding cricketer here has been booked for allegedly demanding Rs.20 lakh from Bihar’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad, police said Thursday.

Parnav Kumar Choudhary was booked after Azad, the MP from Darbhanga, alleged that he had been threatened with dire consequences if he did not pay up.

Choudhary claimed that he had paid Azad Rs.20 lakh to get selected in the under-19 Orissa cricket team and he wanted his money back as he was not selected, police said after initial investigation.

“Parnav Kumar Choudhary repeatedly called on Kirti Azad’s cell phone on Dec 24 and demanded monney and threatened dire consequences if not paid,” said Darbhanga Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sailesh Kumar Sinha.

Choudhary, a resident of Rupauli village in Darbhanga district, also sent an SMS message to Azad in this connection.

Police officials said it was revealed during investigations that Choudhary told his friends that he paid Rs.20 lakh to Azad for his selection in the under-19 Orissa team. When he was not selected, he demanded that the money be returned.

Azad denied the claim and said he did not know Choudhary.

“I never lobbied for the selection of a cricketer in a cricket team, there was no question of it. I have nothing to do with the selection of an under-19 cricket team,” he said.

He said he complained to the police after the threatening calls.