West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday appealed to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to reconsider its ban on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner and the state’s brand ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan, on entering the Wankhede Stadium for five years.
“Shah Rukh is our brand ambassador. We even love Sachin and Sourav. But this is a matter of the Maharashtra government, with whom we share a good relation. I am not sure whether it is proper for me to comment, but I would appeal to the authorities concerned to reconsider the decision,” she said.
Banerjee, a self-declared fan of Shah Rukh, had earlier appointed the Bollywood star as brand ambassador for West Bengal.
Describing the ban as a “sensitive issue”, she added, “I do not know whether it will be proper for me to comment anything about the incident. I do not want to interfere in other states' business. I will appeal to please reconsider the decision.” Earlier in the day, an MCA managing committee “unanimously” decided to ban the actor for five years for allegedly misbehaving with its officials and violating its rules. The actor, however, denied any such misbehaviour, saying he lost his cool only after children, including his, were “manhandled” by the security staff.
RCB player arrested for molesting woman
Another controversy on Friday struck the IPL, with an Australian player of Royal Challengers Bangalore being arrested on charges of molesting an Indian American woman and severely attacking her fiancee leaving him in hospital. The 27-year-old player, Luke Pomersbach, allegedly misbehaved with the woman, a US citizen of Indian origin, at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel in New Delhi last night. He was later arrested, police said.
A case has been registered against him under various sections of IPC including section 354 of IPC (outraging modesty of woman), 323 (hurt), 454 (lurking house trespass) and 511 (Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment).
