Stone attack on Australian cricket team bus in Guwahati: Probe begins.
Senior officials in Assam have begun a probe after a rock was hurled at the bus carrying members of Australian cricket team back to its hotel on Tuesday night. The Australians were returning after winning the second T20 international against the Indian cricket team at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
Following widespread condemnation of the incident, which shattered a window pane of the luxury bus but didn’t hurt any passenger, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered a probe on Wednesday morning.
Moments after the incident, Australian opener Aaron Finch tweeted about the incident - “Pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel!!”— along with a photo of the broken window pane.
On Wednesday morning, sports minister Naba Doley, chief secretary VK Pipersenia, state police chief Mukesh Sahay and other officials met with the Australian team members at their hotel to inquire about the incident. “We are extremely upset about the incident and an inquiry has been ordered. Two persons have been detained for questioning. We will take action against anyone found guilty,” said Doley. The police have prima facie ruled out any security lapse. Some senior officials termed it as an “isolated incident” and stressed the Australian team may not have been specifically targeted. “A criminal investigation headed by a DIG of police has also started. I would not like to prejudge how and why the incident happen. If any lapse is found, necessary action would be initiated,” police chief Mukesh Sahay said.
The incident, widely reported across the world, could hurt Guwahati’s chance of hosting more international matches. Tuesday’s match was the first match at the newly built Assam Cricket Association stadium in Barsapara. International cricket had returned to the city after a gap of nearly seven years. The last match in the city was a one-day international between India and New Zealand held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in November 2010. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the president of Badminton Association of India, expressed regret about the incident through a tweet and assured the guilty will be punished. Guwahati is at present also hosting Group E matches of the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup.